Iron Age iron files from England

There are more than 40 iron files known from the pre-Roman Iron Age in England, of which 26 come from settlements with evidence of manufacturing activities. The files vary considerably in size and form. The coarse-cut files were probably intended for working soft or fibrous materials such as wood or horn, whereas the finer-cut files were probably for working more compact or harder materials, including metals. This corresponds to the metallographic evidence from a sample of 17 files, of which only seven finer-cut ones have been found to be quench-hardened. The discovery of metal particles in five files provides further evidence of use.