File:Early Bronze Age copper-alloy flat axe (FindID 433463).jpg

English: A cast copper-alloy axehead of early Bronze Age date. The axehead is incomplete, missing the end of the butt. It is of late Migdale metalworking tradition, dating to Stage III of the early Bronze Age, spanning Needham's Period 2, c. 2,300 to 2,050 BC and the beginning of Period 3, c. 2050 to 1700 BC (Needham 1996, 127 - 130). The axehead suffers from damage to the tip and edges of the blade. This is probably post-depositional, as the patina on the breaks differs from that of the undamaged parts of the axe. The same can probably be said of the damage at the butt, although the damage here does not appear to have occurred very recently. Although damaged, the blade is convex in shape and the sides of the axe are slightly convex, tapering towards the butt and flaring towards the blade. There are very slight ridges at either edge of the face on both sides. A ridge also runs down each edge of the axe, making it pointed lozenge shaped in section. The axe tapers gradually in thickness from 9.99 mm at the broken butt end to 3.63 mm at the blade. Both faces exhibit faint longitudinal markings which run from the broken butt to the tip of the blade. On other examples these are decorative rather than evidence for sharpening, as they appear to be cast and sometimes terminate before the blade (see DENO-93FB17 for example, on this database). These are probably also decorative on this example. Striations, probably caused by sharpening, are also visible on the blade.

The axehead measures 119.5 mm in length, 32.6 mm wide at the broken point of the butt and 89 mm wide at the widest part of the blade. It weighs 331.3 grams. It has a dark brown patina with considerable evidence for wear. There are areas of green bronze corrosion at the tip of the blade and the break at the butt, as well in small areas of the face. The axehead probably dates to between 2100 and 1900 BC,