In 1924 W.J Knowles's collection of 30,000 artefacts, the vast bulk of which comprised prehistoric Irish stone tools, was put up for auction in London. As a result, the largest collection of Irish archaeological artefacts was dispersed among a variety of dealers, collectors and museums. One of the purchasers, Alexander Keiller, donated 15,000 objects to the national Museum of Ireland in 1938, a large proportion of which derived from Knowles collection.

This book details the history of the Keiller-Knowles Collection, examines the typology and distribution of the artefacts represented, and signals the curatorial lessons to be learnt, regarding both the issue of dispersal and the peculiar problems associated with cataloguing a collection of this size. The significance of the Keiller-Knowles Collection in the broader context of Irish lithic studies is also analysed.