Finally
purchased by Colchester Museum in 2006 for display
This find is
truly a find of a lifetime for me due to it's rarity. For any that don't
know, to find an axe head while detecting in the UK is extremely rare,
to find 7 whole ones, 2 pieces, 3 ingots and a big pile of slag is unbelievable.
These date back to 1100 BC!! (my oldest find yet for sure ) ( dated
as 850 BC subsequently by museum)
I was detecting out in the middle of a 300 acre field in eastern England
when I received a very smooth sounding hit with the Tejon. I dug down
about 22 inches and saw a big chunk of green patina.
What I pulled out was a bronze age axe head. The 3rd one from the left
is the first one that came out.
After I pulled
it out, I called Linda on the walkie talkie to tell her what I had found.
She was about a mile away in a different field and said that was great
and we chatted a bit. Finally I filled back the hole, got up, rescanned
the hole and bang, still another signal. Ok, redig it out, get down
to that level
again and pull out another axe. WOW, 2 axes in one hole. I scanned the
hole again and BAM, more signals. I buzzed Linda again and said I think
I have found a cache of these axes. Well, she made the mile hike over
and I kept digging. There was so much green in the bottom of that hole,
I didn't know if it would ever stop. By the time Linda and now Brian
had gotten there, I had dug out 6 axe heads, the 3 ingots, and a big
ole pile of slag.
We sat there
for quite a while in awe just looking at these things. Someone mentioned
a story about how these peddlers would go into these villages to sell
their wares and most of the time would bury what they had so they didn't
get killed by peasants to steal their goods. They would go into
the village and take orders, then come back and dig up what they needed.
These were laid out with the axes in the front (from the way I was digging)
the slag was all in the bottom and then these
big ingots were laid on top, I guess so the dirt wouldn't fall down
in between the slag and make it easier to redig up. After 3100 years
of being in the ground, there was still no dirt in with the slag, it
was all airpockets. Now we started gridding the heck out of the immediate
area just hoping to find another one. Just before the museum showed
up Linda dug up another piece of one that was only about 6" deep.
It hasn't been decided if hers is part of the hoard or a seperate find.
It may actually be part of a battle axe which wouldn't be part of the
hoard. The strange thing is that it was only 30 feet from mine. Have
to wait for the museum to decide it's fate. Here is a pic of hers.
Well, now the
museum shows up along with some nasty weather. Anyone that has detected
in England knows why they call this weather "bootsticking weather",
the ground has alot of clay and this stuff just sticks to everything
it touches. So out come 2 women from the museum, one of them in a dress,
hoofing across this mud pit By the time they get out to where we are,
it is snowing, hailing and raining, along with 50 mph winds. Oops They
get out to where we are and take all there measurements and coordinates
etc... As we are bagging up the slag, another really small axe head
is found mixed in, which brings the total to
7 complete, 2 pieces, and Linda's seperate piece. We loaded up the 100
pounds of brass into bags and we all take it back to the cars. The English
treasure laws are written that anything that is
classified "treasure" or a "hoard" may be bought
by the museum and the finder cannot get them back. Well, this hoard
is considered treasure AND a hoard so I was told that there is no way
I will get them back The good thing is that they will purchase them
at fair market value after they have an inquest to decide their value.
(takes about a year) Anyways, here are some more assorted pics that
I took...
These are the 3 ingots,
2 small ones and a big one. The big one must have weighed 20 pounds.
The one on the left was
the smallest one (till the even smaller one was found afterwards), the
one on the right was the biggest and was made with a socket on each
side to insert the wood into so that it wouldn't twist.
This one shows the depth
of the hole. When I hit bottom, it was 33 inches deep!
The edges on these were very sharp, again, considering that they were
in the ground for 3100 years, they are in pristine condition.
Ok, thats it on the actual
story, the rest is some research
I did and what I came up with.
Here is some info on how
they melted and made these.
1. The earliest furnaces
were mere camp fires: circles of stones which limited the fire place.
Thus one could bake meat on the hot stones.
And the preheated stones could also bring cold water to its boiling
point.
2. When people
discovered the benefits of copper and later bronze, attempts were made
to smelt these metals.
Here a crucible contains the metal (a) and is surrounded by charcoal
(b).
3. One step
further, attempts were made to reach higher temperatures. Lining the
furnace with stones (a) could then better maintain the heat.
4. A higher
edge could also help in reaching a higher temperature.
5. This is a possible situation
in which one could smelt the copper ores to win the copper.
a. Bellows
b. Bellows-pipe (clay)
c. Ideal place for the ore or a crucible with copper or bronze
d. Charcoal, possibly mixed with copper ores
e. Loam lining
f. Sand / loam mixture
g. Stones
The next 3
pics are of what the casting process would have looked like. The first
one has 2 foot bellows that I guess would keep the fire hot enough.
This one is an artists impression
of a bronze age caster. Notice the tools laid out in front
This picture shows some
molds of the axes, I really like this pic as it shows what the molds
looked like and puts some perspective on everything.
Last but not least, is how
the wood was attached to these. This part of the article I got from
the depot online magazine from an article that Charles in England wrote.
The development of metal
working was very gradual and involved experiments with alloys. It was
found that the addition of 10% of tin to copper produced a bronze alloy
capable of being cast in moulds to make tools with a more enduring cutting
edge. Production was speeded up and tools and weapons of bronze became
more common. The problem of securing a flat axe-head to its haft led
to the development first of flanges, then of loops and sockets in the
axe-head to give greater strength and firmness. The gradual improvement
of the quality of the bronze alloy by the addition of lead in the later
Bronze Age made it possible to produce buckets and cauldrons, giving
better cooking facilities, as well as swords, shields and horse harness
to advance the techniques of warfare. Much of our knowledge of metal
working has come from the discovery of hoards of bronze weapons and
ornaments, some of which are thought to be the stock-in-trade of itinerant
metal workers.
Hafting. Many of the implements
had wooden handles or hafts. These could be tied by thongs or cords
to loop implements. Rivets and pegs were also used to secure handles.
The type I used to secure the socketed axe replica was taken from a
lilac tree and was shaped similar to a horses head handle of a walking
stick, the handle proper being about 12" in length. The head was
inserted into the socket. A leather belt was cut into 10" long
thongs, 10mm wide to fasten through the loops to the handle itself.
Hope that this wasn't too
long and boring for you.
I know it's a day I'll never forget.
Thanks for sharing it with me!
They are finally on display at the Colchester museum, so if your in the area, stop in and take a peak.
Joka