‘Spectacular’ 3,000yo axe heads uncovered in Norwegian field

a reply to: ignorant_ape

I would say its way to small to fell a "tree" and is more likely a splitting wedge,going by the flared out contour from the cutting face going up the head,less lateral contact with the blade on the wood after the strike will help avoid getting jammed . wedge or a kids toy,no wear on it by the looks.

Obviously it is an Hobbit axe

Then the size fit's.. ( And the strange tunnels all under Europe as well ; )

Cool find, Look really well made and preserved for its age.

originally posted by: D8Tee


Looks like it's painted green

its bronze dude.
probably cast in a mold for the shape. doubt it was forged like a sword

and as far as its size kids can tote axes too

Utilitarian axes in the bronze age were not huge. They were used for felling trees.
Take a look at Oetzi the Iceman's ax, axes were fairly small compared to today.

Here's another article on this:
www.thehistoryblog.com...

The axeheads have already revealed a Kinder egg-like surprise inside: there appear to be other metal objects encased within some of them. The team will also test the objects using XRF analysis to determine what alloy they are composed of. The type of alloy will indicate whether the axes were tools used for work or if they were decorative.

The blog says they're hoping to return in the fall to dig again.

a reply to: butcherguy

yes, lets do compare to otzi's axe and other axes



Here is an example of stone age split fork hafting.

, this is a modern replica, but this style of hafting goes back to neanderthal.

Here is otzi's axe, circa 3300B.C.E.,



Its obvious its an adaptation of the split fork hafting to a bronze head.

Here is a modern replica of the scandanavian socket head axes,

1000BCE?

except they didnt get the binding quite right.

Other axes from people adjacent to the med 13th cen bce.


It seems that the socket head axe was very popular at the end of the 2nd millenia bce.



socket head axes from britain



the scandanavians were very conservative, here is an adze fro L'anse aux meadow

still using the same hafting method 2000 years later

Yep, and it is painted John Deere green. Go figure.
a reply to: neo96

originally posted by: gimcrackery
Yep, and it is painted John Deere green. Go figure.
a reply to: neo96

No.

Copper patina.

he bronze age wouldn't be the bronze age if it wasn't for the the presence of bronze. But what is bronze exactly and where does it come from? Bronze is a copper alloy. The most well known bronze used in the bronze age contains of on average 90% copper and 10% tin, but the tin content can vary from just a few percent up to 20% in the extreme cases

1501bc.com...

Patina (/ˈpætᵻnə/ or /pəˈtiːnə/) is a thin layer that variously forms on the surface of stone; on copper, bronze and similar metals (tarnish produced by oxidation or other chemical processes);[1] on wooden furniture (sheen produced by age, wear, and polishing); or any such acquired change of a surface through age and exposure.

en.wikipedia.org...

This is why it's 'green'.

a reply to: CaptainBeno

More pics here:

Archaeologists call this kind of find a hoard, when they uncover objects that have been hidden away or buried in the ground. It is still too early to say why the axes and other objects were buried 3000 years ago.

“There may have been religious reasons linked to a sacrifice, or they might have been cached temporarily, with the intention of recasting the metal later. This was a known practice in the Late Iron Age,” says Henriksen.

Link

originally posted by: AdmireTheDistance

originally posted by: LadyGreenEyes
a reply to: CaptainBeno

Nice!! I'd bet you could still chop down a tree with that thing!! Built to last, eh??

Only if it's a really small tree.

Maybe, but the workmanship for that time period is impressive. That 's so well preserved is nice, too. Really great find!!

For the first picture: It looked like a durable industrial paint to me; that green paint. And the shape is very suspicious as its very, very fine detailed. If its really 3000 year old then it is heck of a masterpiece.

For the other pictures; they look so cool and its really metal oxidation.

originally posted by: belkide
For the first picture: It looked like a durable industrial paint to me; that green paint. And the shape is very suspicious as its very, very fine detailed. If its really 3000 year old then it is heck of a masterpiece.

Actually, it's pretty typical of fine Bronze Age work. Go through an image search of museums sometime for artifacts from that time period. You'll be blown away by the craftsmanship (which does get better in high end materials (gemstones, etc) as time goes on.)