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Late Bronze Age bronze socketed axe
Bronze Age bronze socketed axe
Dimensions: length 81.6mm; surviving width of blade 32.5mm; width below loop 26.1mm; surviving external mouth dimensions 30.5mm (side to side); surviving internal mouth dimensions 23.8mm; approx. depth of socket 56.7mm; surviving weight (prior to conservation) 98.2g.
This is a near-complete plain bronze socketed axe, missing approximately one-quarter of the upper face and mouth. The sides of the axe are slightly concave and near-parallel, with a slightly expanded and curved blade edge. The axe has a sub-rectangular cross-section with rounded edges. Although damaged, the mouth appears to have been deep from front-to-back, giving a sub-square external and internal shape in plan-view. The mouth is defined by a double mouth moulding, the uppermost of which is the thickest and most prominent. The lower moulding is poorly defined and now heavily eroded, but is visible towards the loop-side. The side-loop is damaged, the upper loop-stub located along the position of the lower mouth moulding. The casting seams are visible as slightly raised blunt rides down both sides of the axe, most visible along the loop-side. The upper break edges still retain some angularity with short sections of core-metal exposed, indicating that the damage was caused more recently, likely whilst the object was still buried or during its recent discovery and retrieval.
The axe has a green patina. The surfaces of the axe are heavily eroded. One face is corroded with numerous small pits visible across the surface.
Collection Area
Item Number
Find Information
Site Name: Coychurch Higher Community, Bridgend,
Notes: Please treat the Ordnance Survey grid reference to the precise findspot as CONFIDENTIAL. The find is to be referred to as from Coychurch Higher Community. The maximum permitted findspot accuracy to be released to the public is to the 4 figure OS grid reference of SS 96 86. An archaeological findspot investigation was undertaken by Amgueddfa Cymru and PAS Cymru staff on 30th August - 2nd September 2022. During this fieldwork, a fragmentary bronze spearhead of Group 11 (Davis 2015) was discovered in situ. This was carefully lifted in soil block, cleaned and recorded in the conservation laboratory at Amgueddfa Cymru. As the highly fragile and fragmentary artefact could not be conserved of cared for, long-term, it was discarded and the complete salvaged record of the artefact was retained.