Casgliadau Arlein

One of a Hoard of twenty one bronze tools, weapons and ingot fragments dating to the Ewart Park phase of the Late Bronze Age (1000-800 BC)

This is an Unlooped Faceted Age (or chisel) of Type Meldreth, Variant Aylsham, bronze – virtually complete with two holes

A complete, long and slender unlooped faceted axe (or chisel) of bronze with six faceted body angles. The sides of the axe are slightly concave, diverging markedly towards a strongly expanded blade with a near crinoline form and with a near-straight cutting edge. The axe has a deep collar band of flared and trumpet form with a narrow and pronounced rim, whose lower margin is defined on one face by a narrow moulding. On the reverse, the surface is too heavily eroded to detect this lower collar moulding. The mouth of the axe was probably originally near-circular in shape, however is now D-shaped in plan-view, probably the result of being struck in antiquity by a blunt-ended object. A single eroded runner stub is visible along the socket mouth, positioned centrally along one face. Two small holes (c. 4.0-6.0 by 2.5-3.2mm) are visible down both sides within the collar zone slightly higher on one side than the other. These could be areas of miscasting or rudimentary perforations to take a rivet to attach the blade to the wooden haft. There is deep surface pitting on one

The hoard contains 13 axe heads, 1 palstave, 3 spearheads, 1 sword and 2 fragments from copper and leaded bronze ingots of Late Bronze Age (1150-800BC) dates. 1 additional post-medieval copper alloy object was found nearby but was probably mixed in by chance. The hoard was discovered on the south-eastward facing slope of a shallow valley with a view of the Bristol Channel. There was no obvious watercourse flowing nearby.