Object: Socketed Axehead (Bronze Age)
Period: Bronze Age to BRONZE AGE (950 to 750)
Material: Copper alloy 
Found: Alton, Staffordshire Moorlands, Staffordshire (West Midlands)
Discovery method: Metal detector
Length: 77.8 mm
Thickness: 40.2 mm
Weight: 191.9 g
Description: A cast bronze (copper alloy) faceted socketed axe of late Bronze Age date (950 &ndash; 750&nbsp;BC). The axe is relatively short and stubby and is known as &lsquo;baggy axe&rsquo;. 

The axe is sub-rectangular in plan with concave sides and a flared convex cutting edge. The mouth of the socket is broadly oval. The mouth of the socket has a moulded collar, although some of the original surface is missing. Visible on one side only below the collar are two moulded ribs as decoration. At the base of the collar, on one edge are the remains of a loop. All that remains now of the loop are two circular incomplete projections with well-developed patinas. 

The two long sides of the axe are concave at the centre before expanding to a crescent shaped blade. The casting seams are visible on both long edges.&nbsp;The expanded blade has a curved convex (crescent shaped) cutting edge, although much of the original surface has been lost from abrasion and corrosion. Therefore it is difficult to establish how well used and worn the original blade edge was in antiquity.

The socketed axe head has a dark brown coloured patina across all surfaces with some areas of active corrosion around the socket. There are many areas where the original surface has been lost especially around the blade and on the socket mouth. There is no evidence of organic residue within the socket of the axe. 

Thanks are given to Peter Reavill for his help in identifying this type of axe. He has recorded a similar example discovered in Shropshire (HESH-07A7E3) Here he explains the parallels&hellip;.

These axes have been discovered in associated with the late Wilburton metalworking traditions (phase XI) and the Ewart Park tradition (phase XII). This corresponds to Needham&rsquo;s (1996) Period 6-7 circa 1000-700 CAL.&nbsp;BC. This axe is of a type which is known as Type Gillespie, which Burgess and Schmidt suggest is associated with later Wilburton metalworking traditions (phase XI) and Ewart Park tradition (phase XII). They are also discovered in Ireland and are associated with the Dowris tradition. It has been suggested that this form of facet axe continues production into the Llyn Fawr tradition (which is the transitional period between the metalwork of the Bronze and Iron Ages). Similar axes have been illustrated in Burgess and Schmidt and the best parallels are cat no 1101 Kilkerran, Scotland, 1109 Graham&rsquo;s Mount, and 1112 Hatton, Angus. A more local example can be seen in the Savory Welsh catalogue from a small hoard of axes discovered at Llandaff, Glamorganshire (cat no 282). This Welsh axe had been analysed and the metal content was comparable with axes from the second phase of the Late Bronze Age (LBA&nbsp;II) which Savory dates 750-600&nbsp;BC&nbsp;but would actually be better described as Ewart Park 950-750&nbsp;BC.

The axe measures 77.8 mm length, 49.7 mm width, is 40.2 mm thick, the thickness of the walls of the axe measure 6.8 mm on one side and 6.4 mm on the other. It weighs 191.9 grams.
Subsequent action: Returned to finder