Summary

Barbed and tanged arrowheads found in Scotland are associated with the Chalcolithic (copper) and Early Bronze ages, a timespan that began approximately 2500 BCE, at the end of the Neolithic period. They feature prominently in discoveries from the Bell Beaker period, part of the distinctive material culture of prestigious archery linked to the arrival of an influential new population from Europe about 4,400 years ago ('Barbed and tanged arrowhead, Clough, Ireland, MoST ID 5711; McNish, 22 February 2018).
This arrowhead is also important from the perspective of the museum's history. It is the earliest known acquisition to the First Peoples collection of an archaeological object from the UK or Ireland. It was donated in 1876 to the National Gallery of Victoria by a 'Donald Macleod' and originally categorised as a 'curiosity'. At the time, the library, museums and gallery were all managed by one board of trustees, and the gallery took charge of material culture of an 'ethnological' nature. Responsibility for these collections moved to the National Museum at the turn of the twentieth century. At the time, the arrowhead was registered as an object from the Palaeolithic period. This assessment has been revised to fit with contemporary archaeological understandings.

Bibliography
'Barbed and tanged arrowhead, Clough, Ireland', MoST ID 5711, Museum of Stone Tools, https://stonetoolsmuseum.com/artefact/europe/barbed-and-tanged-arrowhead/5711/, accessed 22 September 2025.
'Lithics and Stone Tools', Scotland Archaeological Research Framework website, https://scarf.scot/regional/higharf/bronze-age/6-4-daily-life/6-4-3-material-culture/6-4-3-5-lithics-and-stone-tools/, accessed 1 October 2025.
James McNish, 'The Beaker people: a new population for ancient Britain', Natural History Museum website, 22 February 2018, https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2018/february/the-beaker-people-a-new-population-for-ancient-britain.html, accessed 22 September 2025.
Acknowledgements
With thanks to Professor Mark Moore of the Museum of Stone Tools.

Physical Description

A barbed and tanged arrowhead made of flint with serrations on the edge.

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