Rights Holder: Royal Institution of Cornwall
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Unique ID: CORN-DA21E3
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
A flint bifacial ovate hand axe dating from the Lower Palaeolithic period, originally from the collection of Roy Rainbird Clarke (1914-1963). The hand axe belongs to the Acheulean tradition and is classified by Wymer (1999) as Mode 2, Type K on page 11, fig.4. Made on a large flint flake which has been worked by the removal of flakes around the circumference of the flake to produce a roughout, followed by thinning using a soft hammer to remove shallow flakes from both faces, removing all traces of the original flint cortex. The domed dorsal face has been finished by the removal of a series of flakes from around the perimeter of the distal end of the axe. The ventral face is flatter, except at its proximal end where the original striking platform has been completely removed, followed by the removal of a series of narrow, shallow flakes to produce a curved, thin edge which would fit comfortably in the hand when the axe was used. Slightly wider shallow flakes have been removed around the margins at the distal end to produce a tool with a cutting edge which extends around approximately two-thirds of the axe's circumference. The entire surface of the flint is coated with a thick, silky patina which has become a mottled, orange-brown colour by the slow absorption of iron salts over time. Two very small, later flake scars on the ventral face at the proximal end do not completely penetrate the patina. Hand axes are believed to be all-purpose butchery tooks but could have had a range of different uses. The earliest evidence of the Acheulean in Britain is a hand axe from Happisburgh, Norfolk which has been dated to 700,000 BP and the Acheulean tradition continued until around 200,000 BP.
Wymer (1999, Vol. 2) provides no record of Palaeolithic finds from Surlingham but does list finds of this date from Whitlingham Sewage Farm, 1.7 miles north of Surlingham.
Wymer (The Lower Palaeolithic Occupation of Britain, Volume 1 (Text), Published by Wessex Archaeology and English Heritage, 1999) illustrates similar ovate hand axes on p.139, fig.51, no.2, from Mildenhall, Suffolk and p.156, fig.55, no.5, from Hoxne, Suffolk.
Bond (2004) illustrates several bifacial ovate Acheulean hand axes from Boxgrove, Sussex on p.77, fig.5.62, no.1 and p.79, fig.5.64, no.6, which date from the Lower Palaeolithic, c.500,000 - 150,000 BC.
This is a find of note and has been designated: Regional importance
Class:
Mode 2
Sub class: Type K
Subsequent action after recording: In a private collection, recorded for academic use
Broad period: PALAEOLITHIC
Subperiod from: Early
Period from: PALAEOLITHIC
Subperiod to: Early
Period to: PALAEOLITHIC
Date from: Circa 700000 BC
Date to: Circa 200000 BC
Quantity: 1
Length: 165 mm
Width: 104 mm
Thickness: 41.5 mm
Weight: 699 g
Date(s) of discovery: Monday 1st January 1900 - Tuesday 1st January 1963
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Primary material: Flint
Manufacture method: Knapped/flaked
Completeness: Complete
4 Figure: TG3106
Four figure Latitude: 52.60264293
Four figure longitude: 1.40985218
1:25K map: TG3106
1:10K map: TG30NW
Grid reference source: Centred on field
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bond, C. | 2005 | PAS Guide to the Identification, Assessment and Recording of Lithics | London | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | pp.77 & 79, figs.5.62 & 5.64 | nos.1 & 6 | |
Wymer, J.J. | 1999 | The Lower Palaeolithic Occupation of Britain | Wessex Arch./English Heritage | pp.11, 139 & 156, figs.4, 51 & 55 | letter K, nos.2 & 5 |