This model axe is a miniature reproduction of a common, everyday object, which served no useful function of its own. Model objects are well-known in Roman Britain and miniature axes first appear in the Iron Age. It may have been a simple good-luck symbol, as miniature axes were also worn as amulets. However, because of its weight, this particular example is unlikely to have been used in this way and may originally have been placed in a grave or a shrine as a votive offering.
The axe is quite crudely made, being roughly wedge-shaped with a narrow, rounded cutting edge. A socket for attachment extends through the head.
Tr III (38), SF 209
1 Comments:
It looks more like a hammer than an axe. Note the way the left hand, thick end, has had some changes to its shape, resembling those of an object which has been repeatedly used for hammering.
Rachel Bowen
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