Casgliadau Arlein

Ribbed Socketed Axe blade and lower body fragment, possibly South Wales Type / Variant (Find No.10)

Part of a hoard of 39 bronze fragments representing a minimum of 38 artefacts discovered in a field following agricultural drainage work. All of the artefacts were reported as being discovered within an area of 2.4m (8 feet) of each other, of each other and at approximate depths of 20-30cm (8-12 inches).

The patination of the objects is consistent with them having been buried in a peaty peaty deposit, which has been known to result in a brown or black patina (Fontijn 2002,40). The hoard findspot was near small watercourse. A search of the Historic Environment Record (www.archwilio.org.uk) revealed no Bronze Age features of sites in the adjacent fields.

Detailed Description; This is a blade and lower body fragment of a copper-alloy ribbed socketed axe. The sides are straight and parallel, leading towards a minimally expanded blade end with a straight cutting edge. Although now deformed, it is clear that the axe had a rectangular-shaped cross-section. The remains of three parallel longitudinal ribs are visible on both faces. On one face, the ribs appear more closely set than the opposing face. The casting seams are thin with jagged edges down both sides of the axe, indicating little or no preparation for use in antiquity. Towards the blade end, the surface of the axe is uneven and contains irregularly shaped puts, possibly caused as the molten bronze cooled during the casting of the axe. The upper body break edges are bent inwards, slightly closing the socket aperture of the axe. The break edges are irregular and largely appear within the patinated surface.

The axe has a dark brown patina across the upper surfaces, grading to grey-green towards the blade end.