AWL

A complete copper alloy awl / leather working tool of uncertain date, possibly Bronze Age but concievably Roman or medieval. The awl is in very good condition with a nice deep green patina. The awl has a square cross section. One end tapers to a sharp point and the other flattens in to a blunt end, similar to a chisel. There are some scratches on the rounded end. Some awls may have been hafted in to a wooden or bone handle however this example was probably used in the hand without hafting as both ends of the awl are useful, practical tools.

From the PAS website: (http://finds.org.uk/bronzeage/objects/awl) Awls are difficult to date but most are probably from the Late Bronze Age. They can have circular or square cross sections and are generally undecorated. They would have been used to make holes in leather or wood and probably were inserted into a handle made from organic materials. Awls were a range of rod-like tools that were usually round sectioned and pointed at one end, and rectangular sectioned with a square or chiselled edge at the other (Rowlands 1976 48). 'Awl' is often used to refer to any number of small, pointed instruments. Referred to as "pointed punches" by Coles (1963-64 117). They were presumably used for perforating leather, but it was once suggested that they were used for tattooing human skin. Dating and areas of discovery

Date: most probably 1250-800 BC
Distribution: All over Britain and Ireland

References
◾Coles, J M (1964) 'Scottish Middle Bronze Age Metalwork', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 97 (1963-4)
◾Rowlands, M.J. (1976) 'The Production and Distribution of Metalwork in the Middle Bronze Age in Southern Britain: Part ii'. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports.