[ProtectOurFreedom]

Fascinating! Archaeologists date the bone box to the late Roman period, which in Britain typically spans the 3rd to 5th centuries AD (roughly 1,500–1,800 years old).

Now how did the artisan make those perfect circle cuts? The uniformity suggests a drill press. Could people in the Roman period have made crude drill presses or vertical milling machines? (I doubt it).

Even if you had a machine like that, what cutter or bit would you use? Something like a hole saw? Or a fly cutter? A trepanning tool?

Note how the circular cuts were shaved off when the 45 degree bevel was added later. If the circular cuts were hand-carved, the artist would have probably repaired those circles and they wouldn't look cut off like that. I think that strongly supports the use of a machine to make the cuts.

[SunkenCiv]

An awl with a sort of outrigger blade. And he (or she) took his (or her) time.

[brent13a]

.....I think that strongly supports the use of a machine to make the cuts.

Thats a wildly illogical deduction based on zero evidence.

You're saying that because it's 1800 years old that the people living in that era were too retarded to figure out how to draw near-perfect circles, nor cut them by hand. Okay.

[GingisK]

Most of those cuts could have been made with a plow plain or similar tool. Given the artifacts the Romans regularly produced, something similar to a drill press is not unreasonable. It could have even been made completely by hand by a careful craftsman.

[higgmeister]

A trepanning tool?

You just elevated the discussion to the next level.