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HANDAXE
Unique ID: IOW-BCF374
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published 
Incomplete bi-facially worked flint implement, probably a hand-axe of probable Palaeolithic date. Length 121mm, width 64mm and 41mm thick. Weight 219.39g.
The black patinated implement has several small modern breaks along the edges and the tip of the point is also broken and missing. However, this break appears to be old. Viewed in plan, it tapers towards a sharp point from the thick angular butt. Prior to damage the edges would have had a slightly "twisted" appearance. The surfaces are slightly "rolled", probably due to the action of the sand and shingle environment in which it was discovered.
Dr Kevin Leahy adds: It is perhaps better to use a more generalised classification for this object and simply describe it as 'Crude'
Notes:
Although the implement appears to be of Palaeolithic date it does not seem to fit Wymer's typology of hand-axes. See Wymer, J. 1999. The Lower Palaeolithic Occupation of Britain. Wessex Archaeology/English Heritage.
Class: Crude
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: PALAEOLITHIC
Period from: PALAEOLITHIC
Period to: PALAEOLITHIC
Date from: 500000 BC
Date to: 180000 BC
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 121 mm
Width: 64 mm
Thickness: 41 mm
Weight: 219.39 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Monday 1st August 1988
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: IOW2004-177
Materials and construction
Spatial metadata
Region: South East (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Hampshire (County)
District: Fareham (District)
To be known as: Portchester Castle
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wymer, J.J. | 1999 | The Lower Palaeolithic Occupation of Britain | Wessex Arch./English Heritage |
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