Klinteodde - en resa i flintans spår

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this essay is to shed some light on the prehistory of a small area on the Danish island of Lolland. The location, called Klinteodde, is situated just off the coast on the northern part of the island. As a result of a quite extensive earth-work construction, a small peninsula has formed. On this peninsula, and in the sea surrounding it, a large quantity of knapped flint can be found. No archaeological investigations have previously been made in this location, but the people living there often find flint artifacts, on the beach as well as in the surrounding area. Danish archaeologists have recorded a few Stone Age features in the sea in the close vicinity of the peninsula but these have never been further investigated. Stray flint finds have also been registered in the area, most of them parts of private collections. As no investigations have previously been conducted, I thought I would take the opportunity myself. After four sessions of collecting flint material in the area I had gathered a total of 728 flint objects. After a close examination of these objects, consultations with professional archaeologists and flint-experts, and a survey of the area’s geological conditions, I had identified a small number of objects which could be used for dating purposes. The earliest traces of human activity found in this material can be dated to the Kongemose culture, possibly even to the preceding Maglemose culture. The site shows continuity throughout the whole of the Mesolithic period as far as either the early or late Neolithic period. There are no actual tools present among the 728 pieces of flint; the dateable material rather consists of a number of blades and flakes with characteristics consistent with the lithic technologies used by certain cultures. Due to the absence of tools and the predominance of early-stage production waste I concluded that the area was likely used for the collection of flint nodules; less desirable parts of the nodules were removed on the site and the prepared raw material was taken to a nearby settlement or camp for further development into tools.