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Description: | Incomplete cast copper alloy side-looped palstave, missing its blade, with just the flanged butt end remaining, which was used to haft the axe to its wooden handle. There is less of the left flange remaining than the right flange which retains the raised casting seam that has not been filed away, running longitudinally from the butt end to the broken edge. The left side is more corroded and has been marked with an incision, parallel to the remains of the casting seam, running the length of the side of the flange. The casting seams are also off-centre, which suggests that the two-part mould may have not been perfectly alligned. There is a slight recess, partly caused by damage, below the deep stop ridge which transverses the width of the axe between the high flanged sides. But there is not enough detail to determine any moulded marks in order to be sure of the type of palstave. There are two raised areas on one side of the palstave, however, which represent the remains of the base of the side loop. Much of the original surface of the palstave is also missing, due to corrosion and abrasion, caused by movement whilst within the ploughsoil. The surface that remains is quite pitted and has many recessed circular facets, which suggests that it has been in a suitably wet or corrosive environment to develop such areas of bronze disease. There is active light green powdering from bronze disease in one of the pits, but corrosion is generally stable. The side loops begin to be added to the sides of palstaves during the Taunton phase of metalwork, during the Middle Bronze Age, from about 1400 BC, and continue through the Penard phase, until about 1100 BC.Pearce (1983) illustrates similar examples of South-western looped palstaves from Somerset on pages 514, 518 & 532, Plates 75, 79 & 89, Nos.654, 685 & 749, which are dated with the early palstave Groups I, II & III of the Middle Bronze Age, c.1500-1300 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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