Casgliadau Arlein

South Wales Type socketed axe. Near complete socketed axe, missing part of mouth and original blade edge, with slightly divergent but straight sides and a rectangular shaped cross-section. The axe has a prominent mouth moulding, from which a narrow loop descends. Three near parallel ribs descend from the mouth moulding on each face. On one face, the ribs are short, extending less than half the length of the surviving blade, while on the other, the ribs are slightly placed at an angle to the side faces and are longer, descending down two-thirds of the surviving length of the blade. The ribs are not well-defined, suggested that the mould parts used to cast this axe were old. The heavy mouth has an oval-shaped exterior edge, while the interior aperture is sub-rectangular with rounded edges. Two runner stubs survive at 90 degrees to each other, indicating this axe was cast with a four-runner casting technology. The casting seams are prominent down both sides of the axe, but were briefly hammered down to remove sharp edges. On one side, there are angled striations on the lower blade surface, but these were probably created after burial, rather than being evidence for preparation of the axe for use. The original surfaces have a grey-green patina, while there are areas of powdery light-green surface around the mouth, along the blade edge and in eroded patches on one lower blade face.