AXEHEAD 217530

Description: Late Neolithic part-polished axehead in grey, patinated flint. It measures 158mm in length with a 41.8mm wide cutting edge and 17.4mm wide butt end. Its maximum thickness is 21.4mm roughly at the central point of the axehead. It is lenticular in section, though one face is rather more rounded than the other. The flint is 100% patinated with a small patch of coretex at the butt end. There is also some iron staining on one face. The sides of the axe are straight but narrow from the cutting edge to the butt. Largish flakes have been taken from the sides and across the body all the way to the butt end, and the polishing is only at the cutting edge and behind in a rough triangular shape on both faces of the axehead. The cutting edge is slightly rounded but rather more straight while the butt end is narrowed to a round point, possible with damage on either side. The cutting edge is quite sharp and has suffered damage (which is now patinated). The polishing has fine longitudinal scratches in it. The axehead is a little unusual being long and narrow in shape. It can be paralleled with a few other examples on the Portable Antiquities database: SF9076 from Haddiscoe, Norfolk, WILT-F694E4 from Heddington, Wiltshire and NMS-3C8962 from Sporle with Palgrave, Norfolk. The latter example (which has a slightly rounder cutting edge) is thought to date to the later Neolithic.

Date: -2500 - -2100

Object type: AXEHEAD

Last import: August 15, 2017