The worked bone and antler assemblage from Broxmouth is the largest collection from any prehistoric site in Scotland, outside the Atlantic zone; such organic materials rarely survive in the predominately acidic soils of southern Scotland (Hunter 2013). The assemblage, therefore, provides an unparalleled snapshot into aspects of material culture lacking in South East Scotland. Of the 360 bone/antler items 235 pieces were made of antler, 122 were bone and one was a tooth. Many of the bone artefacts were made from long bone splinters derived from food reuse. Raw material was readily available: sheep/goat and cattle bones preferred for artefact production. Antler-working debris was widely distributed through the deposits at Broxmouth suggesting that it was most likely a household craft and not specialised activity, although the single compass decorated antler drum surely suggests some form of more specialised production.
In terms of objects made at Broxmouth they include: tools, fittings, weapons, ornaments and leisure items Hunter (2013). Tools and working debris dominate. The tools are probably associated with textile (combs, needles, whorls) and hide-processing (awls). Ornaments include pins, including yoke-shafted pins and unusual objects including a possible ‘drum’. Weapons include socketed points, assumed to be spearheads.
Textile-working is generally represented by needles, combs and spindle whorls.
Hide processing is inferred from various cobble tools and bone artefacts. In particular it is indicated by careful analysis of staining on some of the worked tools.