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Description: | A Neolithic axe or adze head, made from flint. This artefact was initially roughed-out by knapping, and then it was ground, to produce a smooth surface, and a smooth, sharp, rounded blade. This item is interesting, because it shows several phases of use and damage. In shape it is fairly symmetrical, from the face and the side. There is the typical taper towards the butt end, when looking at the face; the butt is rounded. From the side, the artefact tapers to both ends, although one face bulges out slightly more than the other. A cross section through the middle would show an ellipse (the sides are rounded), with one side being flatter than the other.
Much of the surface is ground smooth, although there are several flake scars. Most of these scars are around the hafting zone, where they would be adjacent to the wood, and would aid grip. It is clear that while some of these flake scars were formed before the grinding of the surface, some represent later damage; one side of the butt has several flake scars while the other side is smooth-ground. Some of the other scars along the length of the piece look as fresh, although most show rounded edges, showing that grinding took place after they were knapped, and a couple are even ground-over, in an attempt to smooth out the most shallow scars. A careful examination of the cutting end of the blade shows that the edge has been reground at least once; around the edge, the flint is smooth, but further back towards the haft, there are longitudinal scratches of different sizes, made by chopping; towards the blade, this wear-patina has created a mirror-like sheen. However, the area closest to the cutting edge, while lacking such scratches, is dull, showing that is has been reground. Seen from the side, the regrinding of the edge is clear as a change in the angle of the bevel on both faces. The blade edge is still sharp. However, nearly half of the edge has been lost through damage: an impact has caused several small flakes to come away; there are at least ten such scars, overlaying each other in a line, and all on the same side of the blade. This suggests that several blows were made before the user noticed the damage; also that the user was chopping in such a way that the pressure was applied across the blade slightly. This in turn suggests that the artefact was last used as an adze, which perhaps encountered a hard knot or an embedded stone. The blade was not reground: before the damage the blade edge had a considerable curve from tip to tip, of at least 75 degrees, which is pretty much at the limit of its effectiveness. The blade would thus have required considerable re-grinding, necessitating the slow removal of several cubic centimetres of flint. The owner perhaps decided that it was quicker to invest in a new tool instead. The damage to the blade is still fresh, and so the tool was clearly never used again. This flint is a light brownish-grey colour, with lighter patches. It is well preserved. This artefact dates to the Neolithic period. | Format: | text/html | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ | Publisher: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Rights holder: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Subjects: | archaeology | Temporal: | -4500
-1500 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Dom Andrews | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
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