Macehead (fragment)

This fragment of a stone macehead was found at Lamba Ness on Sanday in Orkney, and dates to between 3000 and 2500 BC. It would originally have been fixed to the top of a handle of wood or other organic material, by means of its shafthole. Maces were principally used as symbols of power and status, although they could have been usable as weapons.

This example, made of an attractive speckled stone, is broken across the shafthole. It is of a type known as a 'cushion' macehead. The borehole is an asymmetrical hourglass shape, and the fracture surface is smooth and polished, as if the fragment has been used since the macehead broke.

'Cushion' maceheads - which resemble modern polo stick heads - have been found scattered throughout Britain, but with concentrations in the Northern Isles and Thames. They are remarkably consistent in shape and size, and many are of greenish stone.

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