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Description: | A complete cast copper-alloy socketed axehead dating from the late bronze age. In plan, the axe has concave sides, a convex cutting edge and a mouth with a rounded collar with a single moulding below it. The end of the mouth is not flat; there are two crests at about the central point on either face. There is a loop on the haft end of one side of the body. When viewed in profile, the axe can be seen to be broadly triangular in shape, with the front and reverse faces being slightly convex. The mouth of the axe is sub-square with rounded corners, almost circular, although towards the cutting edge the socket and the axe are rectangular in section. The socket extends approximately 62mm into the axe. There is a plug of earth within the socket which can be freely removed. Two ridges run down the upper portion of the socket, at about the centre of the front and reverse of the axe. A casting seam runs down both sides of the axe. There are some slightly raised areas on the surface of the axe with a lustrous smooth brown patina. But generally the axe has a slightly pitted brown surface, with a few small areas where green corrosion products are visible. There are transverse grooves/striations and some crazing visible on the surface of the lower blade, particularly on one face of the axe. There is a slight depression on both faces on the body of the axe. The cutting edge is complete and remains sharp. There is a small amount of recent damage on the collar and edge of one face where the surface has been removed revealing the yellow/gold colour of the metal. The axe is in excellent condition overall. The axe is 98.9mm long. The cutting edge is 39.8mm wide and the mouth is 36.6mm from side to side, and 35.3mmm from front to back (maximum external dimensions). The axe has a mass of 183.8g excluding the plug of soil in the socket. The axe recorded here is similar to south-eastern socketed axes identified by Scmidt and Burgess (1981, p. 212-6, and plate 85), particularly axes 1275-1279 which are Variant Bilton (described as Variant Worthing on Plate 85). Schmidt and Burgess (ibid, p. 212) comment that the south-eastern type of socketed axehead is, "...characterized by a fairly slender, square to rectangular-sectioned body with a squarish mouth." They explain that Variant Bilston/Worthing axes have long bodies with concave sides curving to an unexpanded cutting edge, and a mouth where a rounded collar has a single moulding set below it (ibid., p.214). South-eastern axes appear to date from the Ewart Park Phase (Ibid. p.216-7) and, "...may not have survived much into the Llyfawr period". (ibid. p.217). The Ewart Park phase is dated from circa 900 to 700 BC.
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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