Axehead from Townfoot, Dolphinton, Lanarkshire

This stone axehead was found at Townfoot near Dolphinton in Lanarkshire. It was made from stone quarried at Creag na Caillich in Perthshire sometime between 2900 and 2200 BC.

The axehead was made from calc-silicate hornfels, a hard grey-green rock of very fine grain. Axeheads made from this stone were popular in northeast Scotland, but some have been found far from the quarry site in Perthshire.

Ground stone axeheads were used by early farming communities as tools for felling trees and working wood. They could also have been used as weapons, rather like native American tomahawks. Some special axeheads were for ceremonial rather than everyday use.

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