£40
Bronze Age votive flat axe. Circa 2000-1700 BC. Copper-alloy, 5.45g. 40.09 mm. A miniature or model flat axehead or chisel. The sides are bowed. It is trapezoidal and wedge-shaped in cross-section with a flaring cutting edge and narrowed shaft.
Diminutive axes are often associated with Roman votive offerings. However, the axe recorded here is clearly of a Bronze Age form. Miniature flat axes such as this tend to fit in the chronology at the very end of the early Bronze Age when developed axes are becoming established. It is likely that this example is dated to the Early Bronze Age (EBA phase II-III), of metalworking tradition phase IV-V, which corresponds to Needham's (1996) Period 3 circa 2050 - 1700 BC.
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