File:Bronze age palstave axe (FindID 489558).jpg

English: Complete copper allow cast palstave (Type Class 2/2 (Rowlands 1976: 31, Site 127: plate 3 and Site 132 (no.6) & plate 2; O'Connor 1980: 57, Site 21: pg. 319 & plate 1 (1-4)) with deep, U-shape septum and leaf-shaped flanges. Flared, triangular blade with central mid-rib. Brown patina with green encrustations/corrosion, surface pitting, and chipping along the blade edge.

The object is part of a hoard of seven axes found in association. It therefore qualifies as treasure under the 1996 Treasure Act.

The treasure report states: This hoard represents a diverse collection of palstave types typically found in Southern England during the Middle Bronze Age, with the exception of the Norman Type palstave (no. 6). Palstaves were the 'dominant tool of the later MBA in Southern Britain' (O'Connor 1980: 57). Based on the typological evidence, the overall composition of the hoard dates from the later Middle Bronze Age (c.1400-1140 BC), with the earliest palstave (no. 2) belonging to Class 4 group 1 of Rowlands' typology (Rowlands 1976: 34), dating to the Taunton metalwork phase (c. 1400-1250 BC). This type has an ill-shaped stop-ridge and open flanges for hafting and is associated with the Werrar type from the Werrar (Isle of Wight) hoard, a specialised palstave form which has been found in a number of large hoards in South Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight (Northover 2001).

There are four palstaves (nos. 3,4,5,7) dating to the Penard metalwork phase (c. 1300-1140 BC).The other palstaves dated to the Penard phase include one complete palstave (no. 5) belonging to Rowlands' Class 2 group 2 and a fragment of a palstave's midsection (no. 4), possibly attributable to Class 3 group 1 Type Birchington. The complete palstave (no. 5) has the distinctive 'leaf-shaped' flanges of Rowlands' Class 2 group 2 type, a widely distributed sub-type centring on the Oxford area, Thames Valley, and the South East, and is analogous to four side-flanged palstaves with long midrib found in the Burnham (Bucks) hoard (O'Connor 1980, Site 21: pg. 319 & Plate 1: 1-4) as well as being comparable to finds from several Sussex hoards (Billinghurst, Marshall Estate (#7-8), Near Bognor, Blackrock (#9-13), and Rustington).

The overall dating of the hoard is from the MBA, originating from the end of the Taunton period through the Penard metalwork phase (c. 1400-1140 BC). The hoard represents palstave types typical of hoards from the Southern British coast, but possibly with some influence from or connection to Northern France.

The hoard fulfils the requirements for being considered Treasure under the 1996 Treasure Act (2002 Amendment). The Crown's interest in this find has been disclaimed.