The Pitt-River's knife. Flint blade and carved ivory handle, decorated with animal figures in relief. From the Late Predynastic period, c.3250 BC, from Sheikh Hamada.

This is a superb example of this type of tool which appeared in the late Predynastic period and were probably used for ceremonial purposes. The blade exhibits on one side the delicate pressure-flaking typical of the Late Predynastic flint work; the reverse has been ground to shape. Rows of animals are carved in relief on the faces of the ivory handle. They are similar in style to those of ivory labels of the same period. The animals reflect the wider range of fauna which lived in Egypt at the time.