Bronze Age Discoveries & Findings

[maximus otter]

Not so much an axe as a ruler's mace, maybe?
I mean, an actual axe would have been a lot bigger and heavier. This one looks more symbolic.

Maybe, but bronze was rare and expensive back then. Here are some other axe heads of the era:

(Replica, obvs.)

maximus otter

 

[ramonmercado]

Not so much an axe as a ruler's mace, maybe?
I mean, an actual axe would have been a lot bigger and heavier. This one looks more symbolic.

It could have been a two-handed axe for a PORG.

 

[hunck]

Not so much an axe as a ruler's mace, maybe?
I mean, an actual axe would have been a lot bigger and heavier. This one looks more symbolic.

It does speculate that in the report.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Maybe, but bronze was rare and expensive back then. Here are some other axe heads of the era:

(Replica, obvs.)

maximus otter

Do we know what material was used for this axe, though? Looks like stone to me.

 

[maximus otter]

Do we know what material was used for this axe, though? Looks like stone to me.

l assumed that it was badly-corroded bronze.

maximus otter

 

[Mikefule]

Not so much an axe as a ruler's mace, maybe?
I mean, an actual axe would have been a lot bigger and heavier. This one looks more symbolic.

You would not want to stop it with your head.

An axe used for fighting needs to be light and nimble. You could not fight in the line of battle with a modern woodsman's axe, nor could you chop down a tree with one of those two handed axes used by the Danes and Saxons.

That little bronze age axe looks about the size and weight of a pin hammer. (A small light hammer suitable for use on panel pins.)

In my garage, I have several sizes of hammer and mallet, a couple of hatchets and a 2 handed splitting axe. In the unlikely event that I had to fight to the death with an unarmoured opponent, I would choose the pin hammer: light enough to wield dextrously, and capable of delivering a nasty blow with all the momentum focussed on a small area of impact.

Additionally, bronze was an expensive material, and there would be technological limitations on the size of a casting.

I think it's a personal close combat weapon from a time when a small axe or mace was cheaper and easier to make than a dagger blade of similar length.

 

[Nosmo King]

my garage, I have several sizes of hammer and mallet, a couple of hatchets and a 2 handed splitting axe. In the unlikely event that I had to fight to the death with an unarmoured opponent, I would choose the pin hammer: light enough to wield dextrously, and capable of delivering a nasty blow with all the momentum focussed on a small area of impact.

Personally I would favour a brick hammer.
Tack hammers are a bit too light and the handles a little flimsy.

 

[Nosmo King]

I saw an episode of "River Hunters'
recently where they found a bronze age axe head,

https://archmdmag.com/river-hunters-series-1-review/

here is a clip on 'Beau Ouimette, better known as aquachiggers' YouTube channel (he's a presenter on the show btw)

 

[eburacum]

Do we know what material was used for this axe, though? Looks like stone to me.

Yes, it is stone. This burial was made in the Bronze Age, but they were still using stone axes a lot of the time.
It is a beautiful piece of work.

 

[Nosmo King]

Human remains, found by a dog Walker in Gloucestershire have been found to be 4000 years old.

"Human remains discovered by a dog walker alongside a river earlier this year have been found to be more than 4,000 years old.

A man contacted the police after finding the bones near the River Severn in Longney, Gloucestershire, in March.

Carbon dating established that they dated from between 2340BC and 2140BC.

Gloucestershire Police's Martin Cuffe, said it was a surprise. "It was quite a shock to be told that these were dating back to the Bronze Age," he added.

The dog walker spotted the bones in mud near a pumping station and picked them up using a plastic bag."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-58588032

 

[ramonmercado]

Axe artefacts uncovered

A 13-year-old girl uncovered a hoard of Bronze Age axes on her third metal-detecting trip.

Milly was scouring a field near Royston, Hertfordshire, when she made the find - the first of 65 artefacts dating from about 1300BC. When her father dug out the first one, Milly said they joked it might be an axe - and it was.

Archaeologists were called in to excavate the entire hoard, which will be sent to the British Museum, London.

Milly, from Suffolk, had only recently taken up her father's favourite hobby of metal-detecting. The pair were on an organised trip when they came across the first axe head.

IMAGE SOURCE ,COLIN HARDWICK
Image caption, Dozens of axe heads and other Bronze Age artefacts were uncovered by the young metal detectorist

"It was my third time out and I didn't quite know what I was doing," Milly said. "I got a signal and yelled at my dad and when he started digging he went 'this could be an axe', and he was joking around about it."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-59386261

 

[Yithian]

I enjoyed this.

This beautiful artefact is a perforated axe-head of tourmaline granite, red with olive green markings, the nearest source of the rock is Cornwall. It was excavated from a Beaker burial, revealed through aerial photography to the south of Woodhenge (Durrington 67). The grave also contained the crouched skeleton of a man and a beaker, excavated by Mrs M E Cunnington and Mr B H Cunnington, 1929.

The axe-head is magnificently formed with no sign of use, perhaps demonstrating that the it was created purely to be buried with this man as it is in an almost completely pristine state. At this time however (early Bronze Age – 2500-2000 BC) a metal palstave was a more widely used form of axe-head as, being made of a metal, it was more hard wearing than a stone counterpart which could be weathered. This perhaps suggests that the tourmaline granite of this axe-head is more special and was made for use in burial rights only.

Description Continues:
https://www.wiltshiremuseum.org.uk/?artwork=tourmaline-axe-head

Alternative interpretation:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1502310014861651971

 

[catseye]

I enjoyed this.

View attachment 52964

This beautiful artefact is a perforated axe-head of tourmaline granite, red with olive green markings, the nearest source of the rock is Cornwall. It was excavated from a Beaker burial, revealed through aerial photography to the south of Woodhenge (Durrington 67). The grave also contained the crouched skeleton of a man and a beaker, excavated by Mrs M E Cunnington and Mr B H Cunnington, 1929.

The axe-head is magnificently formed with no sign of use, perhaps demonstrating that the it was created purely to be buried with this man as it is in an almost completely pristine state. At this time however (early Bronze Age – 2500-2000 BC) a metal palstave was a more widely used form of axe-head as, being made of a metal, it was more hard wearing than a stone counterpart which could be weathered. This perhaps suggests that the tourmaline granite of this axe-head is more special and was made for use in burial rights only.

Description Continues:
https://www.wiltshiremuseum.org.uk/?artwork=tourmaline-axe-head

Alternative interpretation:

View attachment 52965

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1502310014861651971

You could put the chutney in the hole!

 

[Yithian]

You could put the chutney in the hole!

I thought you'd never offer.

 

[Sid]

I enjoyed this.

View attachment 52964

This beautiful artefact is a perforated axe-head of tourmaline granite, red with olive green markings, the nearest source of the rock is Cornwall. It was excavated from a Beaker burial, revealed through aerial photography to the south of Woodhenge (Durrington 67). The grave also contained the crouched skeleton of a man and a beaker, excavated by Mrs M E Cunnington and Mr B H Cunnington, 1929.

The axe-head is magnificently formed with no sign of use, perhaps demonstrating that the it was created purely to be buried with this man as it is in an almost completely pristine state. At this time however (early Bronze Age – 2500-2000 BC) a metal palstave was a more widely used form of axe-head as, being made of a metal, it was more hard wearing than a stone counterpart which could be weathered. This perhaps suggests that the tourmaline granite of this axe-head is more special and was made for use in burial rights only.

Description Continues:
https://www.wiltshiremuseum.org.uk/?artwork=tourmaline-axe-head

Alternative interpretation:

View attachment 52965

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1502310014861651971

With what looks like the red coloured 'Liddicoatit' inclusions?
(I looked that one up!)

 

[ramonmercado]

An interesting reexamination of Bronze Age Orkney.

About 4500 years ago, farmers on the Orkney Islands off Scotland’s north coast had a sophisticated way of life, likely holding ceremonies amid great stone circles that may have served as templates for Stonehenge.

But within 1 millennium, their lifestyle had changed: Their grave goods were less ostentatious, their tools simpler, and their farming has switched from cattle-focused to sheep herding.

Across the water, people living in what is today the mainland United Kingdom and nearby regions adopted a new way of life around 2500 B.C.E.—but the transition from Stone Age farming to the so-called Bronze Age was much more dramatic. Archaeologists found new styles of pottery, and fancier graves indicating a more hierarchical society. Based on DNA evidence from across Europe, researchers suspect the transformation was part of a massive wave of migration originating in the steppes of Eurasia around 3000 B.C.E. that swept rapidly across the continent, perhaps overturning prior societies by force.

The contrast between the mainland and the Orkneys led some to conclude the islands were a Bronze Age backwater, untouched by the changes taking place on the mainland. But a new study, drawing on DNA unearthed from an ancient cemetery on one of the Orkney Islands, suggests the picture was more complex, and possibly peaceful—and that women may have led the way.

“This is not an invasion scenario,” says Thomas Booth, a geneticist at the Francis Crick Institute who was not involved with the research. “It’s a really cool find,” he says, that may show how the details of large-scale migration patterns varied more than previously recognized. ...

https://www.science.org/content/art...al-surprises-about-great-britain-s-bronze-age

 

[Mungoman]

An interesting reexamination of Bronze Age Orkney.

About 4500 years ago, farmers on the Orkney Islands off Scotland’s north coast had a sophisticated way of life, likely holding ceremonies amid great stone circles that may have served as templates for Stonehenge.

But within 1 millennium, their lifestyle had changed: Their grave goods were less ostentatious, their tools simpler, and their farming has switched from cattle-focused to sheep herding.

Across the water, people living in what is today the mainland United Kingdom and nearby regions adopted a new way of life around 2500 B.C.E.—but the transition from Stone Age farming to the so-called Bronze Age was much more dramatic. Archaeologists found new styles of pottery, and fancier graves indicating a more hierarchical society. Based on DNA evidence from across Europe, researchers suspect the transformation was part of a massive wave of migration originating in the steppes of Eurasia around 3000 B.C.E. that swept rapidly across the continent, perhaps overturning prior societies by force.

The contrast between the mainland and the Orkneys led some to conclude the islands were a Bronze Age backwater, untouched by the changes taking place on the mainland. But a new study, drawing on DNA unearthed from an ancient cemetery on one of the Orkney Islands, suggests the picture was more complex, and possibly peaceful—and that women may have led the way.

“This is not an invasion scenario,” says Thomas Booth, a geneticist at the Francis Crick Institute who was not involved with the research. “It’s a really cool find,” he says, that may show how the details of large-scale migration patterns varied more than previously recognized. ...

https://www.science.org/content/art...al-surprises-about-great-britain-s-bronze-age

That 'Patrilocality' method of marriage mention reminds me of something that my Grandma (on my Dad's side) said once.

She was talking disparagingly about the women of the village, (I KNOW!!), and She let slip the remark that canny Lads around here have always been best off, getting their wives from Scotland.

It seems that my Grandad married Molly - a Lass from Wick - after traveling up to the north of Scotland for some reason, and that in earlier day, it was a common thing for a young man to seek a lifelong partner from outside of where you lived...preferably from the North.

She could have been just badmouthing the local lasses, or She could have been speaking the truth.

Molly was born in the 1890's and so, speaks of earlier times quite easily due to traditions and sayings that had been handed down unaltered, through the generations.

 

[Kondoru]

From what I know on the Islands, Women stayed at home, and men became sailors and travelled the world.

This goes on even today.

So the wife runs the croft, and is occasionally visited by her husband.

 

[Nemo]

Treasure dating back thousands of years found by metal detectorist in Carmarthenshire.

'I couldn’t stop laughing as I kept finding more objects. I will never forget the moment and it will be with me forever'.

Members of the public using metal detectors have uncovered hoards of treasure dating back thousands of years hidden in west Wales communities. The three finds which range from the Bronze Age to post-medieval periods were all discovered in Carmarthenshire and were officially declared as treasure on Friday more than a year and a half after being found.


Back in November 2020, Richard Trew was metal detecting in the Llanddeusant area, south of Llandovery, when he discovered a hoard containing one large spearhead, three small spear fragments, a bracelet fragment, nine ribbed socketed axes, two plain socketed axes, one faceted axe, two sheet bronze fragments and a casting jet. To get the latest Carmarthenshire stories sent directly to you for free, click here.


These may be identified as artefact types belonging to the late Bronze Age, buried together as a hoard around 1000-800 BCE, as long as three thousand years ago. Archaeologists from Dyfed Archaeological Trust and National Museum Wales carried out an investigation of the area in which the hoard was discovered, with funding support from Cadw. The results of this investigation suggest that the artefacts were buried together in a specially dug pit, seemingly far away from any Bronze Age settlement.

(C) WoL. '22

 

[ramonmercado]

A study worth weighting for.

Merchants of the Bronze Age faced the same problem as merchants from London to Lisbon today: how to know you’re getting what you pay for in a transaction.

It usually takes a ruling authority, like a king, pharaoh, or perhaps the European Union, to establish standard weights, which amount to a unit of value in the age before coins and bills.

A new study suggests merchants in Bronze Age Europe were an exception: Through informal networks, Mesopotamian merchants established a standardized system of weights that later spread across Europe, enabling trade across the continent. The advance effectively formed the first known common Eurasian market more than 3000 years ago.

“This is quite a blow to the idea that elites or a central authority is running the show,” says Leiden University archaeologist Maikel Kuijpers, who was not involved with the work. “The [researchers] make a really good case.”

Standard weights—used by merchants to trade goods of equivalent value—were invented in Egypt or Mesopotamia 5000 years ago. By 3000 years ago, they had spread across Europe, where some graves included pouches or boxes containing bone balance beams, tweezers for picking up scraps of gold or silver, and stone weights. ...

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/202...urope-s-first-free-market-more-3000-years-ago

Another Mesopotamian discovery.

A ground-penetrating eye in the sky has helped to rehydrate an ancient southern Mesopotamian city, tagging it as what amounted to a Venice of the Fertile Crescent. Identifying the watery nature of this early metropolis has important implications for how urban life flourished nearly 5,000 years ago between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, where modern-day Iraq lies.

Remote-sensing data, mostly gathered by a specially equipped drone, indicate that a vast urban settlement called Lagash largely consisted of four marsh islands connected by waterways, says anthropological archaeologist Emily Hammer of the University of Pennsylvania. These findings add crucial details to an emerging view that southern Mesopotamian cities did not, as traditionally thought, expand outward from temple and administrative districts into irrigated farmlands that were encircled by a single city wall, Hammer reports in the December Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. ...

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/mesopotamia-city-marsh-islands-drone-lagash-iraq

 

[ramonmercado]

Were they just kidding?

Children may have created ancient owl-shaped slate engraved plaques, dating from around 5,000 years, as toys – putting them top of the wish list, according to a new study.

Researchers looked at whether the owl engravings discovered across the Iberian Peninsula – mainly Spain and Portugal – were used for ritualistic purposes, or whether they were more likely to be toys and an opportunity for children to develop carving skills.

Based on comparisons with owl drawings by modern children, it is suggested that some of these plaques may have been ancient toys. Owl engravings could have been executed by youngsters as they resemble owls painted today by elementary school students The researchers say the findings may provide insights into how children used artefacts in ancient European societies.

Around 4,000 engraved slate plaques resembling owls – with two engraved circles for eyes and a body outlined below – and dating from the Copper Age – between 5,500 and 4,750 years ago have been found in tombs and pits across the Iberian Peninsula. ...

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41025728.html

 

[staticgirl]

They're lovely objects. I would happily have room for one in my flat.

 

[hunck]

Archaeologists say find near Stonehenge is ancient goldsmith’s toolkit​

Re-examination of grave goods shows minute traces of gold.

Microscopic reanalysis of axes and shaped cobbles found in the grave has revealed tiny traces of gold and wear marks, showing they were used by a skilled craftsperson to hammer and smooth sheets of gold.

The bronze age burial mound was excavated in 1802 near Upton Lovell in Wiltshire and attracted attention for its large deposit of pierced animal bones, which were interpreted as the spectacular costume of what was assumed to be a shaman.

But the other grave goods, which also included flint cups, two broken battle axes and a copper alloy awl, “hadn’t had that much attention from archaeologists, comparatively”, said Oliver Harris, an associate professor of archaeology at the University of Leicester.

Microscopic analysis discovered gold traces on five of the stone tools, which was found to have a similar composition to known bronze age gold. Examination of tiny rubs and scratches revealed how they had been used to flatten and polish the precious metal.

The flint cups, they suggest, may have been used to mix resins and adhesives, while the awl could have created perforations and patterns.
The grave goods are thought to date from 1850-1700BC, and are associated with the Wessex culture, which flourished in the aftermath of nearby Stonehenge, according to Harris.

Intriguingly, the grave goods included four Neolithic axes, meaning they were already several thousand years old when buried with the goldworker – and analysis showed that one of them had been used to prepare bronze age gold.

“I would love to know whether they are heirlooms that have been handed down through generations, or whether they were deposited in rivers and were found alongside the cobbles that have been turned into these stone tools – or maybe alongside the gold itself,” said Harris.

“Because those objects have an amazing story. I’d love to know all the things that they’ve seen, and the story of how something came to be so treasured, yet used in a radically different way to what they were intended for 2000 years earlier.”

More extensive report at

https://www.cambridge.org/core/jour...l-g2a-burial/3BBA3D012898FA68D9F35EA27478BE03

 

[ramonmercado]

Archaeologists say find near Stonehenge is ancient goldsmith’s toolkit​

Re-examination of grave goods shows minute traces of gold.

Microscopic reanalysis of axes and shaped cobbles found in the grave has revealed tiny traces of gold and wear marks, showing they were used by a skilled craftsperson to hammer and smooth sheets of gold.

The bronze age burial mound was excavated in 1802 near Upton Lovell in Wiltshire and attracted attention for its large deposit of pierced animal bones, which were interpreted as the spectacular costume of what was assumed to be a shaman.

But the other grave goods, which also included flint cups, two broken battle axes and a copper alloy awl, “hadn’t had that much attention from archaeologists, comparatively”, said Oliver Harris, an associate professor of archaeology at the University of Leicester.


More extensive report at

https://www.cambridge.org/core/jour...l-g2a-burial/3BBA3D012898FA68D9F35EA27478BE03

Max beat you to it on the Stonehenge Thread!

 

[Frideswide]

Based on comparisons with owl drawings by modern children, it is suggested that some of these plaques may have been ancient toys. Owl engravings could have been executed by youngsters as they resemble owls painted today by elementary school students The researchers say the findings may provide insights into how children used artefacts in ancient European societies.

aaaaargh!!!!!!!!!! owlserviceowlserviceowlservice

 

[hunck]

Max beat you to it on the Stonehenge Thread!

D’oh! Actually @Victory not max. If I’d seen it I wouldn’t have posted it again here.

 

[maximus otter]

Curious Mussel Shell Arrowheads in Norway’s Mountains Confound Archaeologists​

It’s not the first time archaeologists in Norway have discovered ancient arrows melting out of mountainsides. But it is the first time arrows made from mussel shells have been found.

Jotunheimen (home of the giants) is a mountainous region situated in central Norway .​

One of the most remarkable archaeological finds in Jotunheimen is the Lendbreen glacier, which has been melting, and exposing a treasure trove of ancient tools and weapons. However, archaeologists in Jotunheimen were surprised to find three “unique” arrowheads made of freshwater pearl mussels that melted out of the ice in the mountains.

Professor Lars Pilø described the find as “breaking news.” He said the “unique arrowheads” were crafted from mussel shells, representing a technology that was “completely unknown in Norway before the melting started, and they have not been found anywhere else in the world.”

According to a report in Science Norway , the shell weapons date back to the Early Bronze Age, around 3,700 to 3,500 years ago. Curiously, however, the arrowheads were only in use for a couple of hundred years.

Pilø said “Folks at the time did have access to stone which can be used to make arrowheads, and they also used bone and antlers.” However, nobody is quite sure why the technology was developed and abandoned in such a short period of time.

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/mussel-shell-arrowhead-0017963

maximus otter

 

[Sid]

Curious Mussel Shell Arrowheads in Norway’s Mountains Confound Archaeologists​

It’s not the first time archaeologists in Norway have discovered ancient arrows melting out of mountainsides. But it is the first time arrows made from mussel shells have been found.

Jotunheimen (home of the giants) is a mountainous region situated in central Norway .​

One of the most remarkable archaeological finds in Jotunheimen is the Lendbreen glacier, which has been melting, and exposing a treasure trove of ancient tools and weapons. However, archaeologists in Jotunheimen were surprised to find three “unique” arrowheads made of freshwater pearl mussels that melted out of the ice in the mountains.

Professor Lars Pilø described the find as “breaking news.” He said the “unique arrowheads” were crafted from mussel shells, representing a technology that was “completely unknown in Norway before the melting started, and they have not been found anywhere else in the world.”

According to a report in Science Norway , the shell weapons date back to the Early Bronze Age, around 3,700 to 3,500 years ago. Curiously, however, the arrowheads were only in use for a couple of hundred years.

Pilø said “Folks at the time did have access to stone which can be used to make arrowheads, and they also used bone and antlers.” However, nobody is quite sure why the technology was developed and abandoned in such a short period of time.

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/mussel-shell-arrowhead-0017963

maximus otter

Wonder if they aren't arrowheads at all, but forms of needles for sewing skins & net repairing together?

 

[maximus otter]

Wonder if they aren't arrowheads at all, but a form of needles for sewing skins together?

No: That's clearly an arrow shaft and associated hafting.

maximus otter

 

[Coal]

No: That's clearly an arrow shaft and associated hafting.

maximus otter

I can only think that they were used for (say) shooting fish - even really thick freshwater mussel shells are pretty friable.