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Description: | An almost intact cast bronze / copper alloy slender and faceted socketed axe of Late Bronze Age date (1000 - 800 BC).The axe is almost complete (95%), with only a few chips missing from the edge of the blade and the socket. The original edge of the blade is not present so it is hard to determine how the blade extended outwards.The axe is sub rectangular in plan, with the edge of the cutting edge appears to expand / flare outwards to form an convex cutting edge. The expanded blade has a curved convex (crescent shaped) cutting edge which is relatively poorly preserved. The socket is sub octagonal in cross section, with a circular opening (internal width 23.65mm, internal length 26.56mm, external width 34.51mm, external length 36.88mm and the mouth is 5.3mm thick). The socket still contains damp organic material, which could be the remains of the original wooden handle. The survival of damp organic material is suggestive of burial in damp, waterlogged conditions such as a stream or other water course.The external edge of the socket is flaring out to form a ridge around the mouth of the socket. The edges of the blade are faceted. The sides are near straight but slightly divergent and the blade edge does not widen markedly. The lower edge exhibits a semi circular moulded side loop (22.93mm length, 9.01mm wide, 4.29mm thick and projects 9.52mm away from the surface of the axe), in parallel alignment to the blade. The loop is placed low down, the upper end emerging from the lower margin of the collar. A casting seam (central raised ridge) runs the length of the axe from the socket mouth to the side of the blade. The opposing edge to the loop exhibits another casting seam (central raised ridge) running the length of the blade. These casting seams are the result of the mould being used to cast the axe being made originally in two halves. The casting seams have been hammered, filed and smoothed. These two sides are both sub triangular in plan with the apex of the triangular being the point of the blade. Striations on the blade bevel, both parallel and at right angles to the blade edge, suggest that the blade was sharpened.The other two sides are sub rectangular in plan, with the edges facetted. The facetting runs parallel initially and then diverge towards the edge of the blade. A raised collar is present at the top of the axe, extending 16.55mm down the length of the blade.The axe measures 90.68mm in length, 34.58mm wide, 36.94mm high at the socket and 43.11mm at the edge of the blade. The metal is 5.68mm thick. It weighs 198.3 grams.The axe is a mid to dark green color, with an even surface patina. The original surface has been removed in a couple of areas, due to abrasion caused by movement whilst within the plough soil.There are a couple of areas of active corrosion (bright green powdery areas), mainly located on the edge of the blade and in a couple of small sections on the socket. Within the socket, some of the soil has been impregnated with copper corrosion products. These areas need careful observation to ensure that active corrosion does not cause any more problems. Advice from a trained conservator should be sought.The object can be identified as of Type Gillespie, (Schmidt & Burgess 1981, 191-4), equating with Class 9A socketed axes in Ireland, (2000, 62-81). These can be dated to the late Wilburton and Ewart Park phases (late Bishopsland and Dowris phases in Ireland) of the Late Bronze Age, between 1050 and 800BC.A shaped wooden axe haft fragment, fitted to the contours of the axe socket interior, 51.8mm in length, 24.0mm wide, surviving weight after drying 4.3g. The haft tapers in the axis parallel to the blade edge, though remains long and narrow at the lower end. The mouth end of the wood fragment has a damaged and concave surface, compression, fragmentation and twisting contributing to the loss of original shape here.This may have occured recently when the haft fragment was removed and replaced soon after discovery or it could relate to ancient impact damage.The survival of wooden haft fragments inside the socket raises the possibility that the axe was deposited in the ground complete with its haft still attached, although it is equally likely that the haft was broken prior to deposition.
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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