The Patrickholme bone bead is a square sectioned bone fragment with a perforated hollow through the middle

It was found during archaeological excavations in Patrickholme sand quarry in Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 by J. H. Maxwell in 1949. It has been suggested to form part of a prehistoric measuring rod

Measuring rod

A measuring rod is a tool used to physically measure lengths and survey areas of various sizes. Most measuring rods are round or square sectioned, however they can be flat boards. Some have markings at regular intervals...

 and tangible evidence of the megalithic yard

Megalithic Yard

A Megalithic Yard is a unit of measurement, about , that some researchers believe was used in the construction of megalithic structures. The proposal was made by Alexander Thom as a result of his surveys of 600 megalithic sites in England, Scotland, Wales and Britanny...

. It measures 33mm and is suggested to date to the Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

. Three and a half beads were found in total with five other bones that may have been beads. The Patrickholme bone bead was the only one showing a square section that was likely to have been artificially shaped.