Does my bum look big in this?

Last weekend (Easter) Mark Keighley “prehistoric technologist” spent four days at Tomb of the Eagles where he gave demonstrations of ancient crafts. As well as knapping and polishing stone axes he turned fashion designer and created a new outfit for the young female mannequin which is on display.

Using deer hide Mark used flint to cut the material into shape before using a bone awl to make holes in the material. The ‘thread’ was made from pig intestine which had been stretched, dried and twisted and was threaded through a bone needle. The hide was then stitched to form a dress.

The material was wonderfully soft and would have felt lovely against the skin. The outfit was finished off with a woollen shawl secured with a bone ‘brooch’ and looked great.

 Mark shows how easily flint can cut through hide.

The finished dress and the woollen shawl make for a rather fashionable look!

The shawl is held in place using a bone brooch.

A trip to the Tomb of the Eagles is a great way of spending an afternoon. To find out more please log on the their web site at http://www.tomboftheeagles.co.uk/