HANDAXE

A complete struck / knapped quartzite plano-convex pointed biface handaxe of Lower and / or Middle Palaeolithic dating (c. 800, 000 BC to c. 40,000 BC).

The biface exhibits working on both interior (upper) and exterior (lower) faces, making it a biface handaxe (Graf, A., 2004, 84).Approximatly 80% of the surface has been worked, with the original surface or cortex covering the remaining 20% of the surface.

The biface is brown with a red/purple tip and has a pointed oval shape with a thick profile at the butt which thins towards the tip. The butt is curved and on the interior side is made of cortex. The tip has a slight chip at the very top and the red/purple colour suggests heat treating. Knapping is visible on both edges, particularly on the interior faces bottom left corner, which has been more heavily knapped. An edge, most visible on the left exterior concaves slightly towards the tip, the right edge is rather more straight from butt to tip. An errete has been made above the butt on the exterior side which continues about 40 mm up, the butt appears to have been hammered on the exterior side to the left of the errete, creating a curved ridge. Just above this ridge an errete has been made which continues until about a third from the tip, running parallel to this is a light grey ridge, which rounds off before the red/purple tip. About 30 mm below the tip on the exterior faces right an indent has been caused by hammering. The handaxe has had limited damage due to rolling and is not completely fresh however knapping and hammering marks are still visible.

Length: 147.51 mm
Width: 92.33 mm
Thickness: 49.69 mm
Weight: 628 g.

Glossary:
Errete: Flake removal resulting in a concave depression.

Reference:
Graf, A., 2004. 'A cause for wonder: preliminary observations on further Palaeolithic surface finds by Ron Waite from around Nuneaton, Warwickshire'. Lithics - Journal of the Lithic Studies Society. 78-100.