PALSTAVE

CORONER'S REPORT

Description of object

Bronze palstave. Norman type. It is very heavily corroded with a light green patina. There is a light brown layer covering parts of the blade and flanges. The blade, flanges and the butt are severely worn making identification of diagnostic features difficult. The blade is relatively unexpanded, the flanges are low and these merge into a broken butt. There is an elongated triangular indentation below the stop-ridge.

L: 123mm; W: max. 56mm; Th: max. 26mm; Wt: 291g

Discussion

The finds retrieved represent a dispersed hoard of Middle Bronze Age bronze palstaves dating to c. 1400-1250 BC. One is of undefined type though does appear to be of the broad bladed and unlooped form. The other two Norman type which are characteristic of Normandy though have been found in concentrations in east Hampshire and West Sussex (O'Connor 1980, 47-49). These are indicative of connections between the southern British coast and northwest France.

The evidence for the cross channel traffic of bronze objects at shipwreck sites such as Langdon Bay (Muckleroy 1981) and Salcombe (Pareham, Needham & Palmer 2006) and the absence of any large scale mining in Ireland or Britain during this period would appear to indicate extensive procurement and recycling of metal objects such as the Norman palstaves that originated on the continent.

The discovery of palstaves in the landscape conforms to broader patterns known throughout southern England (Rowlands 1976). The explanations for this phenomenon remain orientated towards ritual deposition in specific places (Bradley 1998).

Conclusion

Though contextual details are sparse, it is probable that these objects formed a single original deposit or hoard dispersed through the actions of the plough seems very likely. The similar levels of corrosion and light green patinas all indicate that the conditions each has survived through were very comparable.

The Pett hoard is a collection of prehistoric metalwork more than 300 years old and so there is a prima facie case for considering the find to be treasure, under the new Treasure Order (2002) being a base-metal prehistoric find containing two or more metal objects.