Flint @museum.de

Red flint is unique throughout the world and only found on Heligoland. If you’re very lucky, and have trained your eye, you can still find this red rock on the beaches of Düne. But the reddish colour is only on the inside – externally, the stone is hard to distinguish from ordinary flint.

But whatever you do, please don’t break open any rocks on the beaches to see what you’ve found. The seals that lie resting on the beaches are at risk of injury from the sharp edges.

The red colour is due to the iron content – which is also a feature of the red sandstone. Thanks to its unique appearance, the red flint is present in historical collections the world over as a popular gemstone. During the Stone Age, people created edged tools by knapping this type of flint.