Hundreds Of These Have Been Found Across Scotland
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All across Scotland, neolithic stone balls have been found with specific designs and bumps on them that have perplexed archeologists for decades. Were they some kind of toy? A religious artifact? A status symbol? Today we look at these mystery objects and examine the theories to get an idea of just what these ancient people were up to, and why they were important.
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LINKS LINKS LINKS
https://www.nms.ac.uk/discover-catalogue/towie-ball-a-neolithic-status-symbol
https://scarf.scot/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2012/03/CarvedStoneBalls.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carved_stone_balls
https://scarf.scot/regional/higharf/neolithic/5-4-daily-life/5-4-3-material-culture/5-4-3-2-lithics/5-4-3-2-4-carved-stone-balls/
https://britisharchaeology.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/highlights/stone-balls.html
https://scarf.scot/regional/pkarf/perth-and-kinross-archaeological-research-framework-case-studies/the-sheriffmuir-carved-stone-ball/
https://www.livescience.com/62845-scotland-carved-stone-balls.html
https://asia-archive.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/explore-by-dynasty/neolithic-period/
https://www.scotland.org/inspiration/ancient-history-of-scotland
https://www.digitscotland.com/top-eight-archaeological-sites-and-discoveries-from-neolithic-scotland/
https://destinationhistorypod.com/episodes/stoneballs
https://www.lynnekelly.com.au/?page_id=652
https://www.nms.ac.uk/profile/dr-hugo-anderson-whymark
http://abovetopsecret.com/
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – Intro
0:57 – The Towie Ball
3:32 – The Neolithic Period
6:13 – Theories
12:40 – Sponsor – Incogni

@stillwing1
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
UPDATE: I have figured this out. They are the prototypes of golf balls nough said.
@BloatedBumbleBee
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Awesome video, as usual. But just to say. Britain and Scotland are the same thing. England in the south, Wales is west, Scotland is north and Northern Ireland, further west. (Im sure you know this, but had to include it)
@oubliette31415
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
they make me think of polished aluminum foil balls. maybe they are made as a measure of skill. who knows.
@rashidpatch582
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Loom weights – for weaving narrow strips of cloth, like "backstrap looms". Long woven strips were sewn together to make the first fabrics. They would be important tools for women, and decorating them would be a sign that the woman made good cloth. This would explain why they are found inside houses; that's where they were used and kept.
@gregreilly7328
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
My first thought, they look like an early Rubik's cube. Some look like the cube's joints. But the only explanation for that would be time travel. First make a cube-ish ball. Then maybe a joint. Trying desperately to explain how it works to locals, they inscribe rotation lines or spirals. I honestly have NO idea.
@kirbymarchbarcena
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Just imagine if a time traveler accidentally dropped a Rubik's cube in those ancient days before going back in the future.
@alicecantsleeep
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
I'm fully convinced these are the foil balls of the ancient world. Something you made for yourself.
@jarofberts
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Has anyone tried them as cookie cutters?
@dunathegreat6925
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Spent Grenades!
@RobinCrusoe1952
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Been to Orkney several times. Amaze! Amaze!
@puttybean
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
I mean, they could just be… art. You know, a prehistoric meme.
@alwinfridh6335
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
I think they could've been used as massage balls
@Filboid2000
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
3:40 And this is when Drax would ask, "Why is neolithic?"
5:09 Who is "we"? Is this a conclusion determined by you and other prominent archaeologists? Or are you using the royal "we"? Sorry, I just get a little annoyed when someone includes themselves in something that they had nothing to do with.
6:40 Apparently Dorothy Marshall is not familiar with some of the intricate workmanship the went into making flintlock pistols. As for the time and effort it took to fashion these balls, our neolithic ancestors didn't have books or television or any other diversion, so perhaps they fashioned them just to give themselves something to do after having dinner.
@neddreadmaynard
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
80085.
@brandonphillips3736
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
They just look like craftsmen seals maybe for metal work or tabs
@rkelso98
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
I think they were tenderizers or used to knead dough or other food, or used as family seal presses pressed into clay or similar materials to show ownership
@DMBVR4
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
I think they were a game for kids to play with, like rolling dice
@rogermiller2159
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
1:25 that stone is perfect to attach a rope to.
Man that could be fun.
@markedis5902
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
In the same way people enjoy craft now, they would have enjoyed the same thing then but they didn’t have much else to craft with. Leather yes, fabric yes airfix kits …..not for a few millennia
@rowanpine
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Disclaimer: I now nothing about pottery – but any chance the texture was used as a "stamp" pattern i.e. the design was pressed into wet clay to create the pattern (like the clay tablet theory). Humans will find any way to streamline an intricate process and carving something one time which can then be used to make a matching set seems pretty human.
@DuaLeaper-k6u
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Petonk I can't spell French 🤗
@Marlin123
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
I think, hear me out: they were used for language. Point at a part of the stone or rub your fingers a certain way on it and it would signal the chick next to you that you are interested in her.
@kryptofreak74
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Didn't they figure out the dodecahedron? I think modern artisans still use them to make jewelry or something. They help weave metal into rope chains.
@aguijohn1321
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Maybe they were sacrifices to their gods. You give a hard to create gift. A gift to the god to make sure your house had good luck. Native Americans and others sacrificed their slaves and buried them under a new house.
@stevepoling
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
How about neolithic sportsballs for keeping the boys fit?
@coreywagar3890
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Decorative horse hair weights
@zahadou
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
I've. No idea what I did yesterday – never mind 5000 years ago – we can only guess
@scottmears7490
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Do they weigh the same ?
Are they weapons ?
@DasLyfe
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Groaned when I saw the topic. “Not this again!” And I still clicked and watched the whole thing. Baller vid
@thetommantom
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
They look like a handheld milling tool to make flour or even a massage tool
@ACupOfCoffee-p4e
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
I don't understand the arguments for all of these types of devices around the "would somebody spend the time.." what else are they going to do? Its not like there were a lot of forms of entertainment. 200 years from now people are going to be debating if books really exists beause.. would you really spend the time to write all of that text down and then read it? What is this thing? probably the most mundane item ever and it looks like it does because somebody somewhere had some extra time and did a thing and the rest of the peeps were like oooh, that looks cool, can you make one for me.
@docdetroit6541
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
I have a qustion for Joe, which might hint at what I think they are. What do you think people in about 5k years from now will say when they find a football, how bout a soccer ball?
@williamchamberlain2263
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Stone 3-lobed one could be for rope making. Used to guide the twisted strands together without tangling. See wooden version used in Royal Navy rope-walk in Greenwich – videos here on yt. Could also be stylised versions of the same. Rope was very important and intensive to make.
@mikeclarke952
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Maybe they were a family crest thing, that's why they were so common.
@mephitismephitis6825
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Darning egg?
@scoldingwhisper
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
The last time I heard someone mention knobs and balls so many times I was talking to your Mom.
@pbalvim
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
It's for foot massage
@Mmouse_
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
If I had to guess, they're part of some sort of game.
@postictal7846
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
It's for your toilet, like three seashells.
@LuxDiscendi
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
They look cool. So maybe the were just fashionable or a trend. Maybe they had a lot of free time and they used it to just make decorative stuff. People do this today as well. They just put odd shapes into their homes that they like.
@brianstiles1701
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
According to a recent comic, the Roman dodecahedrons were part of a time travel device built by Reed Richards when he and Johnny Storm were trapped in Roman times.
@hanstubben
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
My first thought was an indication to what family the owner of the stone was.
Maybe it was used for not to get inbreeding in families.
@paddor
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Knitting
@michaeljoyce9161
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
We need to find some cave art showing them being used
@danielhale1
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
"Everybody wants a rock to wind a piece of string around…"
They Might Be Giants weren't singing about these, but I'm throwing them into the ring anyway. 😀
@Cjvee4747
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
5:17 LEBRON JAMES🗣️🗣️🔥🔥
@Ang3r87
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Im still certain its a tool.
@TheQuietLantern
July 13, 2026 at 9:41 pm
What if they were maps, like a stone age gps? Water, river, hills, groves of trees, rocks, mountains, and fields all marked from an individual reference point.
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