Casgliadau Arlein

Early Bronze Age bronze flat axe or Developed flat axe blade fragment of uncertain type and of Metalwork Assemblage III-IV, corresponding with Needham’s (1996) Period 2-3, dated to c. 2200 – 1900BC The fragmentary nature of the axe (with a surviving length of 61.2mm and a weight of 172.5g) makes any typological identification difficult. The blade’s shape suggests a wide but slender axe of sub-triangular form similar to axes of Type Migdale / Killaha or the earlier Developed axes (Aylesford, Glenalla or Falkland). The axe is of sub-rectangular section at the break (with a width of 53.7mm and a thickness of 9.2mm). The surviving sides of the axe are slightly concave and divergent to the rounded tips, producing a wide blade edge (with a width of 76.7mm). The blade edge is now rounded and the original edge has been lost. One blade face is flat and the other is very slightly convex across their surviving lengths and both faces are slightly convex across their widths. No blade facets are evident. The axe has a dark green surface patina and one face has a patterning, seemingly resulting from the drying and hardening of the bronze (*check with Conservation) and possibly suggesting this was the upper face as cast in the open mould.