The Kentish eoliths of Benjamin Harrison: their rise and fall in museum collections and what this tells us about the circumstances of their survival

Studies focussing on the history of collections generally emphasize what is estimable about them, but how should we make sense of collections that while once held in high regard have subsequently been judged worthless? Such is the case for eoliths, stone objects resembling early artifacts, which held a pivotal position in arguments concerning the origins of human tool-making, but which are now largely considered non-artifactual. This article discusses the circumstances in which eolith collections were assembled, with reference to national and local museums in southeast England, but is mainly concerned with how and why, with the passing of the eolithic heyday, so many objects described as eoliths were lost, why others remain in museums, and what this tells us about curatorial practice.