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Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
One of Hoard of three bronze palstaves of Transitional Type, Type Shelf, Midribbed Variant of Middle Bronze Age date (1300-1150 BC). Transitional palstaves are relatively uncommon in Wales in relation to more common palstave forms.
This is a virtually complete palstave, with corroded surfaces and damage along the blade edge, flanges and butt end.
The palstave has a slender outline, widening slightly from the butt end towards the stop, with a slightly waisted body across the position of the stop. The sides are straight and moderately divergent, leading towards a narrow and slightly curved blade edge. The surviving blade end is relatively thick (3.2mm), whilst the blade edge is slightly damaged along the entirety of its width. The butt end is slightly damaged across one corner, but appears to have once been near-straight or slightly curved. The flanges are damaged across the entirety of their lengths, but are straight and gradually rise from just below the butt end towards the position of the stop. The stop ridges are prominent and appear slightly curved in plan-view, projecting above the flanges and at a right angle to the septum before steeply sloping onto the upper faces of the blade. The side-loop is of modest thickness, one arm above and one below the position of the stop. The blade faces are decorated with a single central midrib in the form of a rounded swelling, which descends down approximately half of the length of the blade. The casting seams are visible down both sides as slightly raised blunt ridges, but have been damaged across their top edges. No signs of use wear (e.g., striations, hammer marks) are visible across the original surfaces. Much of the original surface still survives with a brown patina, but there are large areas where the surface of the palstave has been damaged through pitting and corrosion. Many of the edges have been damaged also, exposing light green and light brown sub-surfaces. Two large circular pits or holes (c. 6.5mm by 6.0mm) are visible across both faces, located along the upper blade. Both holes are relatively deep (c. 2.5mm & 6.0mm) and are probably the result of corrosion damage.
Site Name: Crynant, Neath Port Talbot
Notes: Discovered on land under rough pasture. The three palstaves were reportedly found within 1.20-1.8m (4-6ft) of each other, each at depths of between 20-25cm (8-10 inches) below the ground surface.