Sleeve for an adzehead

An adze is a chopping tool where the sharp blade is attached at right angles to the haft, and used by swinging downwards. This bone sleeve for a stone adzehead was found at Skara Brae in Orkney. It was used sometime between 3100 and 2400 BC.

The sleeve is made from an antler socket with squared ends, the core hollowed away from the wider end. It has holes for the haft.

In the largely tree-less Northern Isles, wooden objects are less common than other materials. The inhabitants of Skara Brae used bone and antler for a range of objects including shovels, awls, pins, chisels, knives and even beads.

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