AXEHEAD ROUGHOUT

Incomplete axehead roughout made from a gabbroic greenstone cobble that is finer grained and more doleritic than other examples from this area. The interrelationship between the weathering, fracture and possible grinding of the cobble are very complex. The butt end is rounded and damaged, and the blade end has completely worn away so that the roughout is now waisted and narrower at the blade end, where it tapers to a point in profile. Half of the ventral face is also missing, where a section has sheared off and left a stepped projection towards the butt end of the roughout. Several flakes have also been removed from the dorsal face but it is difficult to know if this was deliberate or again damage. This is one of a group of 14 stone tools described as 'potential axes' that have been found on Clodgy Moor or Trungle Moor in Paul parish. A few of these have distinct areas where grinding has been carried out to start a blade. The remainder have a broadly axe-shaped outline and apparent traces of pecking. Examination of most of this group by Roger Taylor, as part of the Clodgy Moor Project, has confirmed that of they are gabbroic greenstone, except for one described as volcanic greenstone. One or two of these he identifies as of similar lithology to that of the greenstone Gwavas quarry nearby. Of the group as a whole Roger Taylor comments that the overall shape of each piece, the apparent 'axe' shape, is due to these pieces having previously been cobbles. However this was way back in geological time before the Quaternary period, as most of the apparent pecking is due to weathering subsequent to the formation of the cobbles. He quotes remnant high level beach material from the Crousa Gravels overlying the gabbro in the Lizard and other material overlying the Carnmennellis Granite as parallels. He considers that the greenstone in all these pieces is comparatively soft, and indeed this can be clearly seen when the group is compared to the hammerstone/pestles. However some of the pieces clearly have areas of grinding over the weathering. The most likely interpretation for this group as a whole is that they were collected as potential axe-making material: their close concentration in one part of the study area makes natural occurrence extremely unlikely (Henrietta Quinnell, Clodgy Moor stonework, forthcoming).

A similar shaped axe, if this one was complete, has been excavated from the Neolithic settlement at Carn Brea and is illustrated in Mercer (1981) on page 155, Fig.64, No.S5.