HOARD

CORONER'S REPORT

A hoard of 197 bronze socketed axes, broken socketed axes and socketed axe fragments. A full catalogue has been produced for this hoard but is not offered here; it is available on request from the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum. Rather, the axes, all being similar, are discussed as a group.

All of the axes in this hoard appear to be of Type Portland (Bruns pers. comm), which dates to the Llyn Fawr stage of the Bronze Age (LBA4) (800-600BC) (Needham et al 1997; O'Connor 2007). This type is distributed in Dorset, particularly on the Dorset coast.

The socket mouth of these axes is 'back-to-front'. 'Back-to-front' refers to the situation in which the long axis is at right angles to the blade of the axe and the collar is thicker at the ends of the long axis (O'Connor 1980: 232). The axe displays single mouth moulding, beneath which a loop protrudes. The axe is shaped from thin metal and there are prominent casting seams. Almost all axes from the Langton Matravers hoard have 3 ribs ending in single pellet decoration; however, four ribs are present on two axes, and five ribs on one axe. The upper body is slender, leading down to a sharply trapezoidal lower body and a straight, broad edged blade. Some axes in this hoard have fillet-defined facets. Most axes have a bright silver patina with patches of green/white encrusted corrosion.

The axes are cast high-tin bronze (analysis pending), made in bivalve (probably clay) moulds (P. Northover pers. comm.) with casting flashes intact in the majority of cases. Remains of the clay core appear to have been left inside many of the axes. Although the majority of blades appear unsharpened, microscopic examination revealed vertical striations (parallel to the ribs) which suggest that the axes may have been polished. The high-tin bronze composition of the axes gave them their silvery patina but also left them highly brittle and unsuitable for functional tasks such as woodworking. Furthermore, the thinness of the axes and the frequently poor quality of casting would suggest that the intention was that they would never be used. The dimensions and style of the axes in the Langton Matravers hoard are very similar although not identical. The dimensions and style of the axes in the Langton Matravers hoard are very similar although not identical. The general length of a complete Type Portland axe in the hoard is between 90 and 100mm; they have an general width of between 40 and 45mm, and weigh between 120 and 140g.

It seems that groups of axes were each made from one mould and, in each case, the earliest axes made from the mould have sharply defined ribs and pellets, with detail becoming less well-defined on axes made from moulds which have already been used several times. The apparent avoidance of the mass production techniques available, such as stone and metal moulds, would have meant that the casting of each axe would have represented a distinct event of labour and craftsmanship. The minor variations which can be observed on these Type Portland axes would appear to support this. These axes are similar to the Sompting type, having characteristic rib and pellet decoration, 'back-to-front' sockets, with the long axis at right angles to the blade of the axe, as well as splayed loops (Burgess 1967-70; Coombs 1972, 2003; O'Connor 1980; Schmidt & Burgess 1981). However, the axes from Langton Matravers are more slender than typical Sompting axes and have less splayed cutting edges. They therefore appear to be more similar to a type described by Coombs et al (2003: 204). This type is triangular and slender, with three or more thin vertical ribs, and includes examples from Portland, Dorset (Pearce 1983: 616, Plate 55) and Salisbury, Wiltshire. Indeed, the decoration on the axes from Langton Matravers (3 ribs ending in pellets and 2 facets) is very similar to the decoration on the axes from Portland, and both hoards are found in the same area of the Dorset coast. This type is known as Type Portland (Bruns pers.comm.). Variations of linear faceted axes are found in concentrations in East Anglia, Dorset and the eastern Netherlands, as well as northwestern Germany, Belgium and northeastern France (Butler 1963; O'Connor 1980: 227, Map 76; Butler & Steegstra 2005-2006).