The hone
This hone (also known as a whetstone) is 84mm long and was found by archaeologists during the dig at Caerlaverock `old' castle in 1998. It is made from stone.
It is shown at a large scale here so that you can see the details on its surface, which provide archaeologists with many clues.
Hones were made from particular kinds of stone which had the right properties needed for tool sharpening. A good sharpening stone has hard, angular minerals set within softer rock. This hone may have been made some distance from Caerlaverock and traded by a merchant.
Knife blades were sharpened by drawing them across the hone. The points of needles and pins could also be sharpened with the hone, producing a narrow groove on its surface. By looking closely at the marks and scratches on the hone's surface, archaeologists can sometimes tell what kinds of tools it was used to sharpen. This particular hone is not very worn, and is not broken, so it was probably lost rather than thrown away.
The hone has a hole near to the top end, through which a leather thong or cord would have passed, so that the hone could be tied to a belt and worn at the waist. In this way, it would always be available to sharpen the owner's knife, which may have been carried at the waist too. To learn more about the knife found at Caerlaverock, click here.
The hone has a design scratched onto one of its faces, of two opposing shields, one above the other, with a kind of cross called a saltire in each of them. This may be an emblem of the Maxwell family, who owned Caerlaverock Castle. This hone may therefore have belonged to a member of this important family. It was probably quite valuable to its owner.
Hones are still used today in workshops where bladed tools are used, although they are becoming rarer.