CRAVEN residents are invited to step back thousands of years and practice some primitive tool making at the Craven Museum & Gallery.

Two workshops are being held at the Museum on Saturday 21 February at 10-11:30am and 11:45am – 1.15pm. Visitors are invited to try their hand at the oldest form of technology known to man: flintknapping. This is the art of turning flint and similar stones into tools and dates back to over two million years ago.

Expert flintknapper, Karl Lee, will be leading the workshops as he helps visitors to fashion a flint tool using prehistoric techniques. Visitors will be provided with replica knapping tools (and modern goggles) to make their flint tools under Karl’s expert tuition.

The Museum & Gallery is home to an amazing collection of prehistoric flint tools, which have been collected predominantly from the Malham area and other parts of the Yorkshire Dales and were used by our ancestors up to 12000 years ago. They were carefully crafted from flint and used for many things from catching animals for food and skins to cutting meat. Some of the best examples can be seen on display in the museum.

Amy Ball, assistant curator of Archaeology at the museum, said: “I know visitors will enjoy this unique opportunity to take part in hands-on workshops and will be delighted with the flints they create.”

Places at the workshops are limited and can be booked by contacting the museum on 01756 706407 or museum@cravendc.gov.uk. The workshops cost £10 for adults and £6 for children aged 8-16 years old. No under 8s can be admitted and children must be accompanied by a paying adult.