Macehead (fragment)

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This fragment of a stone macehead was found at Camelon in Stirlingshire, and dates from between 3000 to 2000 BC. Maces could have been used as weapons, but were principally symbols of power and status. They would originally have been fixed to the top of a handle of wood or other organic material by means of their shaftholes.

The fragment is roughly cylindrical, with an uneven, hourglass-shaped shafthole. It has broken across the shafthole, and the surviving end has slight batter damage as if it has been used to hit something. This might have resulted in the break, which has occurred at the weakest point.

Maces were used as symbols of power from the late 4th to the early 2nd millennium BC, particularly in the Northern Isles. Many are made from attractively coloured or patterned cobbles, and would have taken much time to make. Some have been broken deliberately, as part of a ceremony.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-190-004-813-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.AH 53
• Date: Between 3000 and 2000 BC
  
• Material: Granite
  Hammer / portion
  
• Dimensions: 2.50" x 1.88"
  
• What: Hammer / portion
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Stirlingshire, Falkirk, Camelon
  
• Event:
• Description: Portion of a hammer of granite from Camelon, Stirlingshire
  
• References:
  • Roe, F.E.S. Stone mace-heads and the latest Neolithic cultures of the British Isles. In: Coles, J.M. and Simpson, D.D.A. (eds) Studies in Ancient Europe. Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1968, pp 145-172. 
  • Roe, F.E.S. Typology of stone implements with shaftholes. In: Clough, T.H.McK. and Cummins, W.A. (eds). Stone Axe Studies. London: Council for British Archaeology (Research Report 23), 1979, pp 23-48. 
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