Rights Holder: Birmingham Museums Trust
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Unique ID: WAW-8D4A2C
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published
Late Iron Age to Roman (c. -100 to 200) miniature object in the form of an axe: The axe is cast in copper alloy. The blade is an elongated trapezoid with the narrow edge protruding through the other side of the handle. The upper edge of the blade is convex and the lower edge is concave. In profile the blade tapers in thickness at the blade edge. The handle expands in thickness towards the lower edge and becomes circular in section rather than flat as it is at the blade terminal. The handle at one face, at the midpoint, has a cross as decoration.
The surface of the axe has a well-developed mid to dark green patina.
The axe measures 27.5mm long, 21.04mm wide, 2.68mm thick and weighs 2.57g.
The axe can be classified as a Kiernan Type 2a which dates to the late Iron Age to mid Roman periods. A parallel for this axe was found in a late 2nd to early 3rd century context at Baldock, Hertfordshire (Stead and Rigby 1986: 136/fig. 60, no. 378) which is categorised as a 'ritual model object' and, according to the authors, there is a likely association between miniature axes and Roman temple sites (ibid.).
Kiernan, P. 2009 Miniature Votive Offerings in the Roman North West Verlag
Stead, I. and Rigby V., 1986 Baldock: The Excavation of a Roman and pre-Roman Settlement, 1968-1972 Britannia Monograph No. 7
This is a find of note and has been designated: County / local importance
Class:
axe, long shaft
Sub class: Kiernan Type 2a
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: ROMAN
Period from: IRON AGE
Period to: ROMAN
Date from: Circa 100 BC
Date to: Circa AD 200
Quantity: 1
Length: 27.5 mm
Width: 21.04 mm
Thickness: 2.68 mm
Weight: 2.57 g
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 30th October 2016 - Sunday 30th October 2016
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Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Complete
4 Figure: SP3601
Four figure Latitude: 51.70658934
Four figure longitude: -1.48041758
1:25K map: SP3601
1:10K map: SP30SE
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
No references cited so far.