#FindsFriday Barbed and tanged arrowhead

Another week gone and that means another #FindsFriday for you all! This week we’re going to look at this lovely barbed and tanged arrowhead found on one of our more recent sites near to Colchester.

Barbed and tanged arrowheads are characterised by their shape – triangular with a central projection (tang) at the base and two points (barbs) on the sides. They generally date to the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age (c.4,000-1200 BC).

The development of the barbed and tanged arrowheads would have been significant for early hunter-gatherers as the barbs would have stopped the arrow from falling out of the animal that was being hunted, while also causing significant internal injuries which would have led to a quicker, more successful hunt.

In central Colchester we don’t normally get much in the way of prehistoric archaeology, so this definitely made an exciting change for us all!