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Late Bronze Age bronze socketed axe
Bronze Age bronze socketed axe fragment
Dimensions: surviving length 39.8mm; surviving width of blade 29.4mm; width across upper break 26.9mm; maximum thickness 14.5mm; surviving depth of socket 26.5mm; surviving weight (prior to conservation) 33.0g.
This is a blade end fragment of a slender bronze socketed axe. The sides are straight and slightly divergent, with a slightly expanded and curved blade edge. The axe has a sub-rectangular cross-section. The ends of two longitudinal ribs are discernable across the surviving surface. The break edges mostly appear within the patinated surface, suggesting damage caused in antiquity. A short section of core-metal is visible along the break edge, positioned towards the corner of the socket, indicting more recent damage.
The fragment is heavily eroded and damaged with a light green patina, having lost most of the original surfaces. A short section of original surface survives across one face which has a brown patina.
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.