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The material appears to be a cannel coal/shale: the surface is compact and polished in places, but many areas are delaminating badly. It is probable that this is a locally found lithic material. The hole is towards one edge and drilled from one side only; it appears hand drilled using an awl and a twisting motion. This is a method of drilling similar to many jet and jet-like objects dating to the Early Bronze Age, but EBA artefacts are usually drilled from both sides. The perforation at the top is unusual; the wear facet faces downwards. The degree of wear implies considerable use in a consistent manner, possibly be a piece of string or twine. There is the start of a perforation on the one of the larger fragments. This has no diagnostic characteristics, but could have contributed to the fracturing of the material. It is difficult to gauge the original thickness of the object, as none of the pieces are polished on both faces. However one face appears to be an ‘old’ fracture, in which case the object would have been fairly thin.