Hampshire Cultural Trust's Curatorial Liaison Manager, Ross shines the spotlight on one archaeological object a day throughout the Festival of Archaeology.
These objects were reported and recorded through the Portable Antiquities Scheme, purchased from the Crown through the Treasure reporting process and accessioned into the collections cared for by HCT. With Hampshire Cultural Trust purchasing them, the objects are now available for displays at our museums and for research.
Object 8
Object: ornament hoard
Period: middle Bronze Age
Date: 1500 - 1300 BC
A Middle Bronze Age ornament hoard, consisting of two arm rings, an unlooped palstave axe, a quoit-headed pin, a knife/razor fragment and a fragment of spear tip. An interesting find as the quoit headed pin named after the hoops used in the game of quoits is believed to be an item of local design and manufacture. Whereas the palstave axe is known as Norman type which as the name suggests is an import from what is now France. A palstave is defined by its flange opposite the blade where it would have been joined to a split piece of wood that was used as the handle. Some have a loop on one side but this one does not.
The term 'palstave' was first used in the nineteenth century by Danish archaeologists who borrowed the term from Icelandic paalstab which is actually a digging tool. However, the term had become so common with Scandinavian and German archaeologists that the term stuck in England as well.
This hoard was purchased with the help of Persimmon Homes South Coast who waived its ex-gratia award as the owner of the land where the find was made.
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