Code: 12969
This is a rare early Bronze Age decorated flat axe, dating to c. 2350 - 2050 BC. It was a metal detector find from North Wales in the late 90's. These axes all fit within the earliest phases of metalworking in Britain, metalworking stage II, which corresponds to Needham's (1996) Period 2, circa 2350- 2050 CAL. BC. This means that they are dated, broadly, to the same period as Beaker pottery, barbed and tanged flint arrowheads, copper halberds and gold lunulae. See also WMID-349A3E, WMID-4175F6, and SWYOR-F748BE for further discussion. This is a nice axe, rare with decoration, thought to identify trading workshops or denote ownership, with a nice patina and early British provenance!
This is a rare item and will not be exported outside of the UK
OBJECT: Flat Axe
CULTURE: Early Bronze Age
DATE: c. 2350 - 2050 B.C.
MATERIAL: Bronze
SIZE: 78mm x 29mm x 4mm
WEIGHT: 43.81 grams
PROVENANCE: Originally a metal detector find from North Wales in 1998
