from St Andrews, Fife

Axehead (back)

This bronze axehead was found in 1990 in a hoard of late Bronze Age material at St Andrews in Fife. The hoard contained over 200 tools, weapons and ornaments as well as seven amber beads and three cannel coal bangles. It was buried between 950 and 750 BC.

The form of the axehead is typical of those found in northern Britain during this period. A wooden handle would have fitted into the axehead's socket. A thong could also have attached the axehead to the socket through the loop.

The St Andrews hoard had a number of weapons, including nine socketed spearheads of various sizes, one sword blade fragment and one tongue-shaped sword chape (protective binding for a sword scabbard). Some of the spearheads and other large objects preserve remains of woollen cloth, suggesting that the contents of the hoard were probably wrapped in a woollen cloth or inside a bag.

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Online ID:	000-180-000-890-C
Image Rights Holder:	National Museums Scotland
Project:	0504: National Museums Scotland Part 2 Project description \| View all records in project
Ref:	National Museums Scotland
Date:	Between 950 and 750 BC
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References:	Cowie, Trevor, O'Connor, Brendan and Proudfoot, Edwina. A Late Bronze Age hoard from St Andrews, Fife, Scotland: a preliminary report. In: Chevillot, C. and Coffin, A (eds). Le Bronze Atlantique, Actes du premier colloque, Beynac 1990, Beynac, 1991, pp 49 Gabra-Sanders, Thea. Textiles and fibres from the Late Bronze Age hoard from St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland - a preliminary reort. In: Jaacks and Tidow (ed.), Archäologische Textilfunde - Archaeological Textiles, Textilsymposium, Neumünster 1993. NESAT 5, Ne
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