This chert bifacial strike-a-light from Albania was used to make sparks to start a fire. It was made in the historic period.
In the 19th Century, flintknappers in Albania made thin, square bifaces from fine-grained chert to use in fire-making kits. They wrapped the biface in lead to protect the fingers during use. The chert (‘flint’) was used to strike a spark from a piece of steel, which in turn created an ember in char cloth. The ember was transferred to the tinder to start the fire. The tools were described and illustrated by the famous archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans in 1887.
