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Description: | A cast copper alloy looped palstave with central rib and raised flange facets dating from the Middle Bronze Age (1500-1150 BC). The palstave is 174mm long and weighs 417 grams. The blade of the palstave is sub-triangular in plan with convex expanding sides and a convex cutting edge. In profile the blade is sub-triangular with the widest section being before the stop ridge. The sides of the blade are convex in shape. The blade (measured from the cutting edge to the stop ridge) is 96mm long and the width of cutting edge is 61.4mm. The thickness of the blade tip is 6.7mm. The maximum thickness of the blade is 17.6mm (measured at thickest part below the stop ridge, the width at this point is 26mm). Beneath the stop-ridge, on both sides of the palstave, is a tapering central rib. This rib extends approximately half way down the length of the blade, terminating in a rounded point. The rib itself, although present on both sides, is crisper and less eroded on one of the two faces. The convex cutting edge is uneven and has a number of indentations along its length. These are likely to have formed through use. Also a number of hammer scars are present along the blade facet. This suggests that the cutting edge has been reshaped and sharpened by hammering a number of times. Further evidence of this can be seen on the side of the blade toward the tip. This area is irregular in section with one side being deliberately flattened. Again the probably cause for this irregular shape is probably hammer sharpening. The rear part of the axe (from the stop ridge to the butt) is sub-rectangular in plan and sub-triangular in section (profile) with the widest part at the stop ridge. The septum (the area between the flange facets and the stop ridge) is 67mm long, 16.1mm wide, and 6.7mm thick. The butt of the axe has been slightly damaged leaving one corner rounded. The butt is 21.5mm wide and 5mm thick. The loop is 29mm x 3.5mm and projects 8.5mm The flange facets are fused to the stop ridge forming two sub-rectangular raised elements to haft the axe by. The facets on each side of the axe differ from one another. On one side the flange facets are convex and curve over to almost form an open socket. Whereas the other side has less pronounced or developed facets. The palstave is a bronze metalic colour due to cleaning which has removed the original (dark green-brown?) patina. This cleaning has resulted in a number of small holes which cover all the surfaces of the artefact. Such cleaning means that a number of questions about the age of the damage to the butt of the palstave now cannot be answered. Similar examples to this palstave can be seen in Savory, 1980; catalogue entries 171, 172, 175, and 263 (the Mynydd Ta-y-glannau, Cemmaes Hoard). All of these examples fit into the middle phase of the Middle Bronze Age (MBA II).
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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PALSTAVE
An incomplete cast copper alloy…
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