Roman military whetstones from Weardale

An article in Popular Science reports on the excavation at a site on the banks of the Wear, not far from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, of more than eight hundred discarded whetstones, made from local stone and intended for sharpening military equipment. They can be scientifically dated to the beginning of the second and first third of the third centuries, either side of the construction of Hadrian’s Wall.

The article can be seen at 800 ancient Roman blade sharpeners found in Britain