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Description: | Cast copper alloy palstave or flanged axe blade, trapezoidal in plan, rhomboidal in profile and rectangular in section, at the broken end. The opposite blade end tapers to a rounded and damaged edge in profile. The blade is broad and incurved or inturned, instead of flanged, at the cutting edge and has the remains of what might be the tip of a moulded 'V' or shield at the broken end, but this is made more pronounced by corrosion, and it does not extend any further down the centre of the blade. On the opposite face there is a large cavity near the broken edge which was probably where a large lump of corrosion product has come away from the body of the blade. This makes it difficult to see if there was similar moulding on this face. The entire surface is corroded and pitted so that decorative details are lost. The line of one casting seam is still evident down one side of the blade, but the other side is too corroded to make it out. The edges of the sides of the blade, though worn, are still slightly raised, proud of each of the faces. The palstave is missing the central flanged section with stop-ridge for the haft, any side-loop that might have once been there, and the butt end. The lack of stylistic features make it difficult to date the palstave.Rohl & Needham (1998) illustrate an example of a palstave with a similar shape and slightly flanged blade on page 129, Fig.30, No.145, which is dated to the Taunton phase, c.1400-1275 BC.Pearce (1983) illustrates similar 'Crediton-type' palstaves with inturned blades, straight sides with slight upraising, and V-shaped mouldings, from Perranzabuloe, Truro and Veryan in Cornwall on pages 577, 579-580, Plates 16,18-19, Nos.125, 144a & 147b.The Crediton type palstaves from the South West date from the Acton Park phase of the Middle Bronze Age, c.1500-1400 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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