AXE HAMMER

Stone perforated axe-hammer of probable very late Neolithic or early Bronze Age date (2500-1800 BC). Smaller axe-hammers are also known as Battle Axes and some of the smaller examples have been recorded as perforated maces (mace-heads). The differences between these types / classifications are uncertain and the artefact type as a whole is in need of reassessment in line with modern discoveries and approaches to artefact studies.

This axe-hammer is relatively long and narrow being from a pecked and ground igneous rock. This rock has been identified from observation of the surface as probably picrite. However, without thin section analysis a definitive identification cannot be reached. In plan the axe-hammer is broadly sub-triangular / wedge shaped, with unusually long sides which do not expand from a relatively narrow butt. The axe-hammer tapers in width after the mid point to an angular blunted point. It should be noted that one side is better formed / shaped than the other possibly suggesting that the axe-hammer was cut from an eroded block - rather than mined specifically for the purpose. In profile the axe-hammer is broadly sub-rectangular, the butt and the axe blade have relatively similar thicknesses. There is little evidence of the upper and lower faces of the axe hammer being dished. The perforation is positioned at a point approximately 1/3 of the way along the length of the axe. The perforation itself has an hour glass profile. This is a result of how it was made, being drilled from each side. The perforation has a diameter of 42.8mm at the widest point. The blade of the axe-hammer is on the same alignment (vertical) as the perforation. It is broadly convex in profile. The butt of the axe-hammer (or hammer end) is broadly sub-rectangular (rectangular with rounded corners), Small areas of pecked surface are visible. One edge of the butt is misshapen and this maybe due to more recent damage

The axe-hammer has not been measured due to it being reported during the time of covid. It measures roughly 270mm in length, is 90mm wide and 90mm thick. the central drilled hole has an exterior diameter of approximately 45mm

The axe-hammer is a mid grey cream colour with a relatively well formed surface. This surface has been abraded in places and several surfaces have been lost, probably as a result of movement. However most of the surface retains its 'pecked surface'.

A broad typology of stone implements with shaftholes was produced by FES Roe in 1979. In this paper Roe distinguished between battle axes, axe-hammers, mace heads, shafthole adzes, and pebble hammers. Whilst it is easy to differentiate between the elaborate battle axes and the axe hammers, the larger (earlier) forms of battle axe seem to be typological identical to the axe-hammers illustrated. It is likely that the application of the typological criteria advanced by Roe needs some refinement and there may be a large degree of overlap between the relatively early (?) battle axe and the axe hammer types. With these issues in mind this axe-hammer example seems to fit best into Roe's axe-hammer class I.  The function of this artefact is also not fully understood. The larger examples are thought to be either for mining or agriculture. It is thought that some of the largest examples were used as a form of plough or for breaking ground. Many of the examples known are stray finds without an archaeological context. Several are known to come from burial mounds, however whether they were associated with the grave or the mound is unclear (Savory 1980, 36-37). The artefact type are usually dated to the very final phases of the Neolithic or the early part of the Bronze Age, specifically to the Beaker phases (EBA 1 and II).

Axe-hammers formed from picrite are the most common type discovered in Shropshire and the Marches area (Roe, 1979). This is due to the procurement site (formerly known as an axe factory) at Corndon Hill, Shropshire (rock source XII). Cordon Hill is situated on the Shropshire / Powys (Montgomeryshire) border. Examples of these types of axe-hammer can be seen in museums in both Wales (cf Savory: pages 161-164) and the Marches (Shrewsbury, Shropshire and Herefordshire). The distribution patterns shown by Roe show the largest concentration of group XII axes in the West Midlands, Marches and Wales, with some outliers East Midlands and Wessex. The findspot of this axe-hammer falls near Corndon Hill site - in the parish of Westley.