- Museum number
- 1998,0901.63
- Description
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Copper alloy socketed axe mouth fragment. Ribbed, with casting flash. White patina.
- Production date
- 800 BC - 600 BC (circa)
- Dimensions
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Length: 21 millimetres
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Weight: 5.40 grammes
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Width: 24 millimetres
- Curator's comments
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Probably from a Type Portland axe.
Type Portland axes are defined by a 'back to front' socket, a single mouth moulding beneath which a loop protrudes, a slender upper body, leading down to a sharply trapeziodal lower body and a straight, broad edged blade. The type also typically exhibits defined side facets and three or more vertical ribs ending in round pellet (Roberts et al. in prep).
The Portland and sub-type Portland socketed axes belong to the broad Linear Faceted axe family which are found in southern England and date to the Llyn Fawr metalwork phase (c. 800 - 600 BC), from the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age transition period (O'Connor 1980, 231-234). These axes are found in a discrete distribution in Dorset in only seven hoards at Portland (Pearce 1983, 479, Plate 55), Blandford (Pearce 1983, 465, Plates 45-6), Eggardon (Pearce 1983, 462, Plates 45 and 151), Thorney Down, Sixpenny Handley (O'Connor 2007, 75), Near Weymouth Pearce 1983, 487, Plate 60), Langton Matravers (Roberts et al. in prep) and the previously unpublished one from Tincleton (Dorset County Museum 1990.64.1-6). The axes tend to be formed from thin metal with silver patinas indicative of high tin-bronze alloying, as seen in the Langton Matravers hoard (Roberts et al. in prep).
O’CONNOR, B. 1980. Cross-Channel Relations in the later Bronze Age. British Archaeological Reports (International Series) 91 (Oxford).
O’CONNOR, B. 2007. Llyn Fawr metalwork in Britain: a review. In C. Haselgrove and R. Pope (eds.) The Earlier Iron Age in Britain and the Near Continent (Oxford), 64-79.
PEARCE, S.1983. The Bronze Age Metalwork of Southwestern Britain. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports (British Series) 120 (Oxford).
Roberts, B., Boughton, D., Doshi, N., Fitzpatrick, A., Hook, D., Meeks, N., Mongiatti, A., Wooward, A., and Wooward, P. 2012. Collapsing Commodities or Lavish Offerings? Understanding massive metalwork deposition at Langton Matravers, Dorset during the Bronze Age-Iron Age transition.
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The Salisbury hoard originally consisted of over 500 copper-alloy objects which were illegally excavated in 1985 at Netherhampton, Wiltshire, England. The objects were subsequently acquired by the British Museum from finders and collectors. It remains one of the largest hoards ever found in Britain and is virtually unique in containing objects from the Early Bronze Age through to the Late Iron Age – several of which are either rare or unique. The chronological span of the copper-alloy objects ranges from flanged axes dating to the Arreton metalwork phase of the Early Bronze Age (c. 1700-1500 BC); through the palstaves, socketed axes, razors, chisels, ferrules and dirks of the Acton Park, Taunton and Penard metalwork phases of the Middle Bronze Age (c. 1500-1140 BC); through the socketed axes, spearheads, pins, chapes, socketed gouges, knives, ferrules and buttons of the Wilburton and Ewart Park metalwork phases of the Late Bronze Age (c. 1140-800 BC); through the socketed axes, chapes and razors of the Llyn Fawr metalwork phase of the Earliest Iron Age (c. 800-600 BC); through to the miniature cauldrons and miniature shields dating to the Middle-Late Iron Age (c. 200-100 BC). The mysterious ‘drinking horn’ recovered in subsequent excavations at Netherhampton led by Ian Stead (British Museum) may also date to this latest period.
With artifacts ranging from the Early Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age, Netherhampton contains objects which not only have a date range of over 2,200 years but includes objects representing nearly every century of the intervening time. It seems likely that the whole group were buried together in the later Iron Age, probably in the first or second century BC. This is extremely unusual. Occasionally hoards will produce a piece or two from an earlier time period, such as Danebury, Hagebourn Hill, and perhaps Hounslow, but this is a rare occurrence. Batheaston provides the closest parallel to the Salisbury hoard in terms of the magnitude of recycled objects from the Bronze Age (see Stead 1998, 120-122). Some of the Bronze Age objects from Salisbury were over 2000 years old when they were buried. These may have been first deposited in the Bronze Age, and later re-discovered by Iron Age farmers. These would have been unusual and unfamiliar objects in the Iron Age, and this may explain why they were selected for deposition in the Salisbury hoard.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1998
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- 1998,0901.63
- Additional IDs
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Miscellaneous number: 1988.77.5 (collector number)
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Miscellaneous number: 534 (database number)