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Date: |
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Description: | An incomplete small ground and polished Langdale axehead. Made from an Igneous green stone which has reddish-brown mottling and probably sourced from the Lake District, Cornwall or Wales. The side facets are polished. There is some damage to one side of the butt end, caused post-depostion rather than ancient use-wear. This is an example much smaller than usual, probably reworked from a larger axehead which was damaged. One edge and the blade is from the original larger axehead, and the opposite edge and rounded butt have been reshaped to acheive a symetrical finish.Dr. Tom Brindle writes: "Grinding occurs after 4000 BC, so this axe is likely to have a date range of between 4000-2500 BC. Axes were ground using large stones used for the purpose. Grinding or polishing axes was a manfuacturing technique which produced less facets than knapping or chipping the stone, meaning that there would be less chance of breakage during use. However, a ground axe would also have been aesthetically pleasing and these objects almost certainly played a symbolic and ritual role in many Neolithic societies, and they would have been impressive and prestigious items to own. Ground axes were traded or exchanged over very long distances, and there are even examples known from Britain which, based on petrographic analysis, have been shown to have originated in the Alps.
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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