Record ID: NMS-6538A4
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: MESOLITHIC
County: Norfolk
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Large and almost complete adze, of triangular cross section, in rolled condition. The flint has patinated a dark brown colour with the coarse inclusions now a lighter brown, the edges have crumbled due to the flint re-corticating and turning chalky underneath the brown patination, showing as a white grainular surface. The damage to the cutting edge shows the core of the flint is still intact under the thick chalky degradation and a patch of good quality dark grey flint inside. The flint was likely to have been this colour and condition when the adze was knapped to shape. The flake sc…
Created on: Monday 22nd April 2024
Last updated: Tuesday 23rd April 2024
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NMS-5AA89B
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: MESOLITHIC
County: Norfolk
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Complete small tranchet adze, made from a larger thermal (frost/”potlid”) fracture of flint, the ventral face (the flatter of the two) carries the remnants of the interior face of this natural fracture, this area is unworked and is patinated slightly more orange/yellow than the knapped surfaces. The butt of the adze is relatively unpatinated, with a tiny patch of cortex extant to the very tip of the butt, the rest of the dorsal cortex is completely removed by flaking, this face shows the flint to have originally been mid-grey, the other parts of the adze are now patinated a…
Created on: Monday 4th March 2024
Last updated: Monday 4th March 2024
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-BF2348
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
A relatively worn, pitted adze head, of probable late Neolithic - early Bronze Age date, made from amphibolite schist. It is a light blue-green colour, and flares at its cutting edge. Interesting, this object shows signs of having been broken, and the blade subsequently re-worked. It appears to have originally been an adze, but its secondary use was as an axehead. Greenstones axe or adze heads were commonplace during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods in Cornwall. Due to depositional context of this find, and due to the relative proximity upstream of a Bronze Age-Iron Age…
Created on: Monday 8th January 2024
Last updated: Thursday 7th March 2024
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NMS-F4CE01
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: MESOLITHIC
County: Norfolk
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Adze, of pale buff and misty light grey patinated flint, all flakes appear to be semi-hard hammer struck, the butt is flat: the only remnant of the nodule this was knapped from, it retains a much lighter, almost white patination. The cutting edge has been reshaped crudely by removing invasive flakes from dorsal face only from the cutting edge, the result is uneven. This may have been an attempt to make a shorter adze a damaged example, or a failed attempt to resharpen a blunt edge, it is clear that this piece was abandoned at this point. As the cutting edge has been modified, it is dif…
Created on: Tuesday 5th December 2023
Last updated: Tuesday 9th January 2024
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NLM-C213E3
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
County: North East Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Pale grey and mottled flint, adze, as kindly suggested by the finder. A straight-sided rod with curved cutting edge and a narrower butt, formed from a nodule by covering hard hammer angled scalar retouch which has produced numerous deep and overlapping dished scars. One side may be ground or battered. The object is of irregular oval section. Suggested date: Neolithic, 4000-2350 BC Length: 114.6mm, Width: 43.3mm, Thickness: 36.5mm, Weight: 174.98gms
Created on: Tuesday 3rd October 2023
Last updated: Tuesday 3rd October 2023
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NLM-528F42
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
County: North Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Brown flint possible adze fragment. Suggested date: possibly Neolithic, 4000-2350 BC Length: 22.1mm, Width: 36.2mm, Thickness: 15.1mm, Weight: 9.23gms
Created on: Wednesday 5th July 2023
Last updated: Wednesday 5th July 2023
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: SUR-DD6F65
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
County: Hampshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
A Neolithic flaked flint adze, knapped from a grey flint, 156mm in length. The sides on the long axis of the tool are roughly parallel, tapering to rounded ends and with a lenticular cross section. The side profile is convex suggesting a function as an adze and the working edge is rounded but has been damaged. The flint has heavily recorticated with a white patina derived from prolonged deposition in calcareous sediments and there is also extensive post depositional iron staining.
Created on: Wednesday 24th May 2023
Last updated: Friday 1st December 2023
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NLM-837BB3
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
County: North East Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Dark grey flint adze. Flaked adze, of oval section with covering angled scalar retouch extending across both its sides, and with traces of light battering at either end. Slightly tapered in form. The lack of any patina might suggest this object to have recently been disturbed from a sealed context. Suggested date: Neolithic, 4000-2350 BC Length: 68.3mm, Width: 33.4mm, Thickness: 17.9mm, Weight: 41.97gms
Created on: Tuesday 13th December 2022
Last updated: Tuesday 13th December 2022
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Laceby', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: LON-109BCE
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: MESOLITHIC
County: Greater London Authority
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
An early Mesolithic flaked flint biface adze "Thames pick" (10,000-7,000BC). The adze has been 'roughed out' from a flint nodule or pebble. It is roughly oval in cross section. Viewed edge-on along its longitudinal axis the adze tapers slightly from the broadly rounded butt towards the more pointed cutting edge. Viewed from above, the butt and cutting edge are both rounded and the sides are approximately straight and parallel. There are signs of crushing along sections of both edges. There are numerous conchoidal fractures and large flake removal scars extending from the edges on both…
Created on: Thursday 21st April 2022
Last updated: Sunday 24th April 2022
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NMS-0BC4AF
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: MESOLITHIC
County: Norfolk
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Proximal end of a very large hard hammer struck blade of thick, sub-triangular section, the distal end is broken transversely in antiquty, the lateral edges have been steeply retouched on one side, the steeper side has been flaked on the dorsal face, the ventral face has a few flakes struck from either side in an attempt to reduce the curvature of the bulb of percussion. It is a possibility that this object was the butt end of a crude adze made from a large, elongated flake with the cutting edge broken at the mid-point by transverse bending forces, a common place and way for a f…
Created on: Tuesday 15th March 2022
Last updated: Monday 4th April 2022
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NMS-3773EC
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
County: Norfolk
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Approximately half of an adze, the butt end is missing, broken transversely, this break is relatively recent and lacks the patination of the knapped surfaces: - of pale patinated, mottled grey flint with spotty iron stains to both faces. The dorsal face is well knapped to form a pronounced median ridge at the centreline, blending neatly into the angle of the cutting edge, the ventral face is much flatter, this gives the sub-triangular/D section and offset (towards the flatter face) cutting edge that defines an adze over an axe (Field et al. (1984) Type E). The edge itself appears to ha…
Created on: Monday 21st February 2022
Last updated: Saturday 14th October 2023
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NLM-786CFB
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
County: North East Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Brown flint adze. A thick oval flake with rounded angled ends and a broad [15.8mm] flat facet along one long edge. Both sides bear covering angled retouch executed with hard hammer, and traces of battering along that long edge opposite a flattened facet. Edge-on impact scars occur here, suggesting some adapted use of the tool with the flat facet enabling pressure to be brought to bear on a working edge. An elongated side facet might also appear on a Neolithic polished axehead. The surface is smoothed, possibly from rolling in surf. Suggested date: Neolithic, 4000-2350 BC Length: 12…
Created on: Monday 16th December 2019
Last updated: Monday 16th December 2019
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Cleethorpes', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: NMS-64A922
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
County: Norfolk
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Elongated adze or pick, bifacially knapped with sub-triangular cross section with the flatter of the two faces forming the underside, broken in antiquity by a transverse bending fracture, plunging around to an oblique hinge termination on the underside near to the (now missing) cutting edge. The adze is patinated mottled dark orange, yellow and pale buff, the coarse inclusions (mostly near to the centre) being of the paler colour and mostly on the underside the flake scars have "stacked up" in hinges due to the hackly nature of these fractures. Only two areas have been damaged post de…
Created on: Monday 9th September 2019
Last updated: Monday 9th September 2019
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: SF-246613
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: MESOLITHIC
County: Suffolk
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
An incomplete flint Mesolithic tranchet axe or Neolithic flaked adze. It is trapezoidal in shape, expanding slightly towards the damaged end and roughly triangular in cross-section with a raised ridge running longitudinally down the centre of one face. There is a rough break across one end where a section is missing. There is invasive, scaled retouch on both faces, but this is less extensive on the flatter face. The flint is dark brown in colour with some orange staining and very little patination. A very small amount of cortex survives on both faces. Because of damage it cannot be…
Created on: Thursday 13th June 2019
Last updated: Friday 21st June 2019
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'St. Margaret, Ilketshall', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: IOW-3B87BD
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
County: Isle of Wight
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
A Neolithic flint adze (4000 BC-2351 BC). This adze is an elongated sub-oval shape in plan and is wider at the cutting edge than at the butt end. It is crested in cross-section but the ventral face is convex. Both faces are knapped overall except for a brown area on the ventral face which is cortex. A break has occurred on the ventral face close to the cutting edge and the butt end has been remodelled. The patina on both faces varies from off-white to orange. The patina on the break and the remodelled area is greyish. Length: 134.6mm; width: 47.4mm; thickness: 32.0mm. Weight:…
Created on: Sunday 2nd June 2019
Last updated: Sunday 2nd June 2019
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Isle of Wight', grid reference and parish protected.

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Record ID: NMS-4B328E
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: MESOLITHIC
County: Norfolk
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Previously recorded in 2009 (P.A.R. ident 12/11/09) Record states: Mesolithic adze/axe? dimentions 99 x 37 x 26 mm. Rod-shaped artifact, with sub-triangular section, in glossy brown flint, flaked on all faces. One end is abrupt, with some evidence of battering, and has a small area of cortex on one face; the other is broken in antiquity, with a hinged fracture. Most probably this is a broken Mesolithic axe or adze which has snapped in use with the loss of the cutting edge. It appears that this has been recorded before in June 1990: NHER 37232 (originally NHER 28435) Found or recorded …
Created on: Wednesday 3rd April 2019
Last updated: Monday 22nd April 2024
No spatial data available.

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Record ID: NMS-ABA0F4
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
County: Norfolk
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Transversely broken cutting edge of a Neolithic adze. Of plano-convex section and of unpatinated mottled grey flint. The break is just behind the cutting edge and hinges over on the dorsal face and has produced a series of "fluted" flake scars that terminate in step fractures just short of the edge, this type of break is frequently encountered on flint axes as well as adzes and is usually an indication of failure of the flint under stress during usage, otherwise known as a transverse bending fracture.
Created on: Monday 18th February 2019
Last updated: Monday 18th February 2019
Spatial data recorded.

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Record ID: SF-31C9F4
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: MESOLITHIC
County: Norfolk
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
A fragment originating from a knapped flint tranchet adze of probable Mesolithic date, c. 6000-4000 BC. The fragment consists the butt end of the adze, broken around a quarter of the way down the original object in an old, patinated oblique hinge fracture. The fragment is broadly semi-circular in plan, with a flattened underside and prominent dorsal arrise on its upper face-giving it an overall triangular section. Almost the entirety of the original support surface has been removed by secondary working, which takes the form of highly invasive bifacial removals-probably detached via me…
Created on: Thursday 31st January 2019
Last updated: Thursday 31st January 2019
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Bressingham', grid reference and parish protected.

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Record ID: SF-A41B68
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: MESOLITHIC
County: Suffolk
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
A knapped flint adze of probable Mesolithic to early Neolithic date, c. 8000-4000 BC. The adze is of small size, being broadly triangular in plan with a very prominent dorsal arrise running down one face. By contrast the opposing face is much flatter, though displays a large patch of cortex close to the original cutting edge-the butt of the tool also being cortical. Lateral long removals of retouch down the edges of the piece probably reflect a combination of hard and soft hammer work, an attempt at a tranchet removal (unsuccessful) seemingly visible on one face. Manufactured on a pri…
Created on: Wednesday 19th December 2018
Last updated: Wednesday 19th December 2018
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Weston', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: NLM-952884
Object type: ADZE
Broad period: MESOLITHIC
County: North Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Flint adze fragment. A sub-triangular chunk of broad lentoid section with, initially, two broad flakes struck from its dorsal side by hard hammer strike, and with an uneven ventral surface. Covering angled scalar retouch was carried across the dorsal surface, and a few comparable drafts appear on the ventral side. Broken at its broader end, probably recently. Patches of iron staining appear on the worked surfaces. The surface overall is a dull buff tint, possibly a deep patina arising from prolonged exposure to a calcareous environment. Suggested date: Late Mesolithic, 7000-4000 BC. …
Created on: Thursday 6th December 2018
Last updated: Monday 10th December 2018
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Barnetby le Wold', grid reference and parish protected.