File:Bronze Age Axes Image 3 (FindID 190313).jpg

Original file(1,335 × 1,683 pixels, file size: 189 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

Captions

Captions

Add a one-line explanation of what this file represents

Summary

edit
Bronze Age Axes Image 3
Photographer
West Berkshire, Charlotte Burrill, 2007-08-17 10:55:23
Title
Bronze Age Axes Image 3
Description
English: Late Bronze Age hoard comprising of 3 cast copper-alloy socketed axe-heads, a 2-part cast copper-alloy axe casting mould, 6 pieces of bronze metal working casting debris and 2 associated but later (Medieval-Post Medieval) copper alloy fragments.

Axe 1: South eastern type Class A2 (Ewart Park Phase c.1000-800BC). The shape of the mouth is a rounded square. It has a double mouth mouldings with a single side loop extending from the lower less pronounced moulding. The body is parallel sided with slight flaring towards the cutting edge. The casting seams are clearly evident down both sides of the axe and the cutting edge is fresh and undamaged. The axe has a single slightly pronounced rounded pellet in the centre of each face just below the lower mouth moulding, apart from this the axe is plain.

The axe measures 109.67mm in length, the blade is 45.24mm wide. The external diameter of the mouth (from side to side) is 40.09mm & the internal diamter is 27.60mm, the external diameter of the mouth (front to back) is 43.14mm & the internal diameter 31.20mm. The length of the side loop is 23.65mm and it is 9.72mm thick. The axe weighs 287.45g.

Axe 2: The description is exactly the same as above.

The axe measures 110.37mm in length, the blade is 45.47mm wide. The external diameter of the mouth (from side to side) is 40.19mm & the internal diamter is 28.83mm, the external diameter of the mouth (front to back) is 41.72mm & the internal diameter 30.04mm. The length of the side loop is 24.42mm and it is 10.10mm thick. The axe weighs 275.21g.

Axe 3: The description is exactly the same as above.

The axe measures 109.16mm in length, the blade is 44.93mm wide. The external diameter of the mouth (from side to side) is 39.70mm & the internal diamter is 28.89mm, the external diameter of the mouth (front to back) is 42.36mm & the internal diameter 30.47mm. The length of the side loop is 24.77 and it is 10.15mm thick. The axe weighs 289.67g.

The 2-Part Axe Casting Mould: The mould completely matches the form, size & shape of the above 3 axes and it is therefore fair to say that this mould was used for the casting of these items.

The mould has a 'tongue & groove' design around the main axe impression allowing the two pieces to be closely slotted together during casting. There is a slight negative surface flaw evident on the internal face of one of the moulds (along the lower blade portion) but this is not seen on the 3 axes and was presumably filed or polished during post-casting axe preparation. The remains of a failed casting can be seen in the upper portion of one half of the mould and this is now a pale white-yellow in colour. The exterior of one half of the mould is decorated with two long irregular linear ridges and one shorter ridge between. Below this shorter central ridge is a small raised rounded pellet and below this a small depression. The other half of the mould purely has a smaller central rounded pellet for decoration. Projecting from the lower perimeter edge of one half is a slight semi-circular flange.

The mould and axes have a rich mid brown patina with some superficial surface pitting/porosity and slight surface scratches probably acquired in recent years.

The Mould with remnant casting measures 151.04mm long and is 63.92mm at its widest point. It was not possible to weight the item (in excess of 300g)

The second mould piece measures 152.60mm in length and 64.76mm at its widest point. It was not possible to weight the item (in excess of 300g)


Bronze Metalwork Casting Debris: There are 6 pieces of copper-alloy casting debris that were found in close association with the hoard. The debris has bright green corrosion but is brown-orange in colour overall. It is dense and heavy in relation to its size and has the typical 'bubbled' appearance of casting waste. The waste measures: 118g, 225g, 86g, 133g, 266g & 255g.

Two additional pieces of copper-alloy metalwork were also presented with the hoard but due to their form and correlation have been deemed Medieval to Post-Medieval in date with the larger of the two being a probably leg for a Medieval cooking pot c.1500s whilst the smaller item is unidentifiable in its current condition.
Depicted place (County of findspot) Oxfordshire
Date between 1000 BC and 800 BC
Accession number
FindID: 190313
Old ref: BERK-56BD17
Filename: REPORT Three Axes Loops Right.jpg
Credit line
The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) is a voluntary programme run by the United Kingdom government to record the increasing numbers of small finds of archaeological interest found by members of the public. The scheme started in 1997 and now covers most of England and Wales. Finds are published at https://finds.org.uk
Source https://finds.org.uk/database/ajax/download/id/147687
Catalog: https://finds.org.uk/database/images/image/id/147687/recordtype/artefacts archive copy at the Wayback Machine
Artefact: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/190313
Permission
(Reusing this file)
Attribution-ShareAlike License
Other versions
Object location51° 34′ 05.16″ N, 1° 16′ 26.51″ W Kartographer map based on OpenStreetMap.View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMapinfo

Licensing

edit
w:en:Creative Commons
attribution share alike
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Attribution: The Portable Antiquities Scheme/ The Trustees of the British Museum
You are free:
  • to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
  • to remix – to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
  • attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  • share alike – If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same or compatible license as the original.

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current23:08, 31 January 2017Thumbnail for version as of 23:08, 31 January 20171,335 × 1,683 (189 KB) (talk | contribs)Portable Antiquities Scheme, BERK, FindID: 190313, bronze age, page 493, batch Oxfordshire count 3740