FLAT AXEHEAD

A heavily corroded copper alloy(?) probable axe or tool such as a chisel. The object is likely to date from the Early Bronze Age. In plan, the object has an asymmetric slightly splayed convex blade with a tapering, broadly straight edged body that terminates in a narrow convex butt. One of the edges of the body is slightly longer than the other, and the shorter edge curves in towards the butt. In profile, the object is lentoid in shape. The front and reverse of the object are broadly flat in section, although there are two slightly raised areas on both sides, towards the longer edge. These are approximately half way fown the body of the object, but they are offset. The edges of the body are convex in section. The longer edge is also slightly thicker from front to back. The object has a heavily pitted surface - some of the cavities being over 5mm long. The surface is dark brown in colour, and where this has been lost, the object has a green appearance. The object measures 64.8mm long from the butt to the apex of the cutting edge. It is 28.6mm wide from blade tip to blade tip, and is 10.9mm thick at its thickest point on the body. It weighs 66.5g. Extremely small early bronze Age axes which are brpoadly similar to the object recorded here are included by Schmidt and Burgess (1981) in: "The Axes of Scotland and Northern England" (e.g. see objects 282 and 283, both identified as "flat axe(?)"). A number of broadly similar extremely small axes and tools such as chisels have been recorded on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database (e.g. see HESH-298FF4, HESH-37B951, WAW-049216, NARC2616, and ESS-819206). The object described in this record has the general form of an extremely small flat axe or a tool such as a chisel from the early bronze age but due to its poor surface condition this identification and dating can only be considered to be probable. I am grateful to Ms Angie Bolton and Mr Peter Reavill of the Portable Antiquities Scheme for the assistance provided in identifying this object.