Object: Hoard (Bronze Age)
Period: Bronze Age to BRONZE AGE (-1000 to -800)
Material: Copper alloy 
Found: Hollingbourne, Maidstone, Kent (South East)
Discovery method: Metal detector
Description: The hoard is composed of five socketed axes, five fragments of Ewart Park swords, two fragments of Carp's Tongue swords from a minimum of three swords and three ingot fragments. The axes, which are all fragmentary, are of the South-Eastern type. Nos. 1-2 show signs of having been deliberately broken for inclusion as scrap metal. The faceted axe fragment (no. 5) belongs to a distinctive type with noticeably well-finished examples which have a very wide distribution.



1. Socketed axe fragment: South-Eastern



Double mouth moulding. Both faces have wing mouldings. Very faint transverse moulding forming hour-glass with circular pellet prominent beneath mouth moulding and very faint circular moulding between the wing mouldings at the bottom. Casting flashes visible along much of the sides, although they have been removed places. Last vestiges of mouth casting flash and of one casting jet stump visible. Ridges down the centre of the internal faces. The body has many fine transverse and oblique striations. Variable green to dark brown patina. Corrosion damage particularly on the raised areas. Straight break, blade edge missing.



L: 91 W mouth: 43.5 B mouth: 49.8 W break: 31.2 B break: 13.3 B loop: 7-8.3 Wt: 194.13g (finder's ref: no.2)



2. Socketed axe fragment: South-Eastern class A



Incomplete, small socketed axe. Possibly triple mouth moulding, which survives in poor condition. Sub-square mouth with rounded corners.The loop is very narrow and is of uneven thickness. Blade edge missing and the break is straight. Considerable damage on one face in a line adjacent to the looped handle which extends to the mouth. Side flashes are wholly removed. Most of the surface patination is lost.



L: 62 W mouth: 33 B mouth: 29 W break: 27.8 B break: 12 B loop: 4.3-6.1 (finder's ref: no.3)



3. Socketed axe fragment: South-Eastern



The mouth and handle are missing. Traces of casting flashes, which are off-centre on both sides. A small part of the blade edge is intact and there are corrosion chips on the remainder of the blade edge. The blade tips hollow slightly. Smooth brown patina.



L: 69.6 W edge: 51.1 W break: 34.1 B break: 23 Wt: 144.81g (finder's ref: no. 5)



4. Socketed axe fragment: South-Eastern class A



Incomplete, socketed axe. Most of the body and blade is surviving. Casting flashes visible on one side, but removed on the lower blade. V-shaped notch with corrosion chips around it which is probably a scar of the missing loop. There are corrosion chips along much of the blade edge. Faint transverse striations above the blade edge on one face only and hammer-rippling above, on both sides. Patches of corrosion damage.



L: 61.5 W edge: 42.5 W break: 24.5 B break:20.2 (finder's ref: no. 13)



5. Faceted axe fragment: South-Eastern class D



Incomplete faceted socketed axe. Circular mouth, with prominent moulding. Each face has three faceted angles. The loop is slightly skewed. One edge of the break is reasonably straight. Even dark green patina. Below the mouth is a hairline fissure forming a roughly oval shape, which is probably derived by metal flow during casting.



L: 49.2 W mouth: 27.6 B mouth: 27.4 B loop: 4.5 W: break: 22.5 B break (distorted) 13 Wt: 52.86g (finder's ref: no.10)



6. Sword hilt fragment: Ewart Park class A



Flange-hilted; on one edge the flanges are completely missing. On the shoulder one rivet hole is extant and there are traces of a second. There is a pointed oval recess removed from the midrib on both faces at the narrow end. Flange sides are hollow in section. Shallow hammer indentations on either face.



L: 33 W shoulder: 26 W grip: 19.9 B flange: 3.8 Th: 6.7-9.5 Wt: 20.07g (finder's ref: no. 12)



7. Sword hilt fragment: Ewart Park class A



Blade edges mostly missing through corrosion. From the point of the shoulder there is a slight recess of the blade edge to a length of 18mm. The blade is 45.1mm wide at this point. Above the shoulders there are slots removed from the blade edge on either side. Near cylindrical rivet holes struck contiguous to shoulders. Traces of rivet hole along the lower edge of the grip. No flanges whatsoever on the grip. The gently hollowed edge bevels are poorly defined. Fine transverse striations on both faces. Poorly defined midrib on hilt. Even dark brown patina.



L: 88.2 W shoulders: 51.7 max W grip: 24 Th grip: 5.8 Th blade: 9.3 Wt: 119.57g (finder's ref: no. 14)



8. Sword blade fragment: Ewart Park class A



Edge bevels defined, but not crisp. Corrosion chips along much of blade edges. Hammer marks on both faces, extensively over one mid-rib and part of the other. Occasional, faint diagonal and longitudinal marks. Brown patina.



L: 74.8 W: 24.5-29.2 Th: 6.5 Wt: 68.74g (finder's ref: no. 1)



9. Sword blade fragment: Ewart Park class A



Well-defined edge bevels. Only a small part of the blade edge is extant on one side. Heavy hammer marks on one surface. Dark patina. Damage consisting of diagonal line across blade wing and midrib of one side.



L: 29.5 W: 34-35.7 Th: 6.6 Wt: 29.3g (finder's ref: no. 8)



10. Sword blade fragment: Ewart Park class A



Two very small preserved patches on blade edge. Well-defined edge bevels. Brown patina.



L: 46.8 W: 28.7-32 Th: 8 Wt: 53.38g (finder's ref: no. 6)



11. Sword blade fragment, Carp's Tongue class B



Fine transverse grinding marks concentrated on one edge bevel. Thegently hollowed edge bevels are poorly defined. Blade edges missing. One blade edge is much thinner than the other. Transverse striations. Variable dark to green patina.



L: 59.6 W: 28.3-33.1 Th: 8 Wt: 57.59g (finder's ref: no. 4)



12. Sword blade fragment, Carp's Tongue class B



The blade wings survive at different widths; one is 10.3mm the other is 8.2mm. Corrosion chips along blade edges and on the mid-rib on one side. Dark green patina.



L: 46.2 W: 32.5-33.8 Th: 9.6 Wt: 46.08g (finder's ref: no.9)



13. Ingot



Plano-convex edge fragment.



Th: 37.5 (finder's ref: no.7)



14. Ingot



Ingot fragment.



Th: 27.6 Wt: 290.89g (finder's ref: no. 11)



15. Ingot



?Edge fragment.



Th: 24.2 Wt: 270.92g (finder's ref: no. 15)
Notes: Faceted axes are frequently found in association with Ewart Park swords within hoards, as in the case. Ingots of raw material are a well-known feature of this particular period in south-eastern England.



The presence of axes and swords which may be interpreted as scrap, mixed with ingots of raw material, suggests that this is a founders' hoard. Although these artefacts were found as a scatter, we can be confident that it originated as a hoard and was dispersed by the action of the plough.



All of these artefacts fall within the Ewart Park phase of the Late Bronze Age period and suggest a date of deposition towards the end of the period, around 1000-800 BC. The hoarding of metalwork at this period was not an uncommon phenomenon, particularly in the south-east of Britain.
Subsequent action: Acquired by museum after being declared Treasure