Macehead (fragment)

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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.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-190-004-779-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.AH 33
• Date: Between 3000 and 2500 BC
  
• Material: Stone
  Hammer / portion
  
• Dimensions: 2.00" x 1.88"
  
• What: Hammer / portion
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Orkney, Sanday, Cross and Burness, Lamaness
  
• Event:
• Description: Portion of a polished stone hammer, from Lamaness, Cross and Burness, Sanday
  
• References:
  • Gibson, W.J. Maceheads of 'Cushion' type in Britain. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 78 (1943-4), pp 16-25. 
  • Ritchie, P.R. Stone axeheads and cushion maceheads from Orkney and Shetland: some similarities and contrasts. In: Sharples, N.M. and Sheridan, J.A. (eds) Vessels for the Ancestors. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1992, pp 213-220. 
  • Simpson, D.D.A. and Ransom, R. Maceheads and the Orcadian Neolithic. In: Sharples, N.M. and Sheridan, J.A. (eds) Vessels for the Ancestors. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1992, pp 221-243. 
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