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One of a Hoard of twenty one bronze tools, weapons and ingot fragments dating to the Ewart Park phase of the Late Bronze Age (1000-800 BC)

This is a South Wales Type socketed axe, bronze – incomplete

A near complete ribbed socketed axe of bronze, with an incomplete mouth, missing part of one lower face and with a damaged cutting edge. The axe has near straight and parallel sides which diverge significantly towards the blade end. The cutting edge is well expanded, more pronounced towards the non-loop side. The axe has a prominent and narrow mouth moulding from which a narrow loop descends. A short section of the mouth moulding is incomplete. The axe has a sub-rounded shaped mouth. Two narrow and sub-circular shaped runner stubs are clearly visible around the socket mouth, positioned centrally above one face and the loop-side. The axe has a hexagonal cross-section. Three parallel and longitudinal ribs descend from the base of moulding, extending down two-thirds of the length of each face and with slight raised face-edges on both sides. A trapezoidal shaped hole (c. 20 by 21mm) is visible across one lower face, positioned just above the base of the socket. The break edges are slightly irregular and heavily worn, suggesting damage caused in antiquity. The blade edge is damaged across most of its length.

The hoard contains 13 axe heads, 1 palstave, 3 spearheads, 1 sword and 2 fragments from copper and leaded bronze ingots of Late Bronze Age (1150-800BC) dates. 1 additional post-medieval copper alloy object was found nearby but was probably mixed in by chance. The hoard was discovered on the south-eastward facing slope of a shallow valley with a view of the Bristol Channel. There was no obvious watercourse flowing nearby.