Rights Holder: Danielle Wootton
CC License:
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Unique ID: DEV-6FB0F7
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published
A Prehistoric stone mace-head or hammer of Mesolithic to Neolithic date (8300 - 2100 BC). The object is broadly oval in plan with a lenticular profile and rounded sides. Both faces are slightly convex. There is a drilled circular perforation at the centre of the item. The perforation measures c.22mm diameter at each face and c.15mm in the middle, creating an hour-glass shaped profile for the perforation. The length of the mace is 118mm, and the overall thickness is 27mm. The narrower 'butt' end measures 61mm in width and the slightly wider 'hammer' end measures 77mm in width. The surface of the item is generally smooth; one face is chipped, which may have occured post-depositionally. The 'hammer' end is chipped and broken in places; this damage may be caused by wear during use as a tool.
The following comments are derived from PAS record BH-215F62 by Peter Reavill and Julian Watters: 'The dating of stone mace heads is poorly understood; it is thought that most date from the Mesolithic or Neolithic periods; however, they continued to be produced into the Bronze Age. According to the British Museum's Catalogue of Stone Age Antiquities (1926: 107), finished Bronze Age mace-heads can be distinguished from earlier examples in that they have a cylindrical perforation, as opposed to an hour-glass-shaped one.'
Notes:
Recorded Kingsbridge finds day May 2014.
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: MESOLITHIC
Period from: MESOLITHIC
Period to: NEOLITHIC
Date from: Circa 8300 BC
Date to: Circa 2100 BC
Quantity: 1
Length: 118 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Date(s) of discovery: Saturday 17th May 2014
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Primary material: Stone
Manufacture method: Knapped/flaked
Completeness: Complete
4 Figure: SX6950
Four figure Latitude: 50.33531997
Four figure longitude: -3.84208716
1:25K map: SX6950
1:10K map: SX60NE
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
No references cited so far.