BRONZE AGE AWL

-1150

A cast copper alloy awl. The awl has a shaft which is two-thirds of the length of the awl which is sub-rectangular in section and tapers in depth, but not width to a blunt point. On one surface towards the terminal there are hammer marks visible. This terminal is also slightly curved in plan. The lower third of the awl is circular in section tapering to a blunt point. This portion is slightly wider than the rectangular section. The awl has a well developed light blue/green patina. It measures 50.57mm long, and 5.85mm. It weighs 5.1g. The date of the awl is uncertain. Awls can date to the Bronze Age. Needham (in Longley, D. & Needham, S 1980 ‘Runnymede Bridge 1976: Excavations on the site of a Late Bronze Age settlement’, Surrey Archaeological Society Volume 6, page 19.) discusses awls and comments they cannot be dated with accuracy within the Bronze Age period as they are found in Early Bronze Age contexts, such as graves as well as Middle and Late Bronze Age hoards. Barber (Barber, M. 2003 Bronze and the Bronze Age: Metalwork and Society in Britain c. 2500 – 800 BC. Tempus) comments that awls are commonly found in graves and their function may not just have been utilitarian. Coombs (Coombs, 2001 in Pryor, F. The Flag Fen Basin: Archaeology and Environment of a Fenland Landscape English Heritage: Swindon p. 287-288) comments that they may represent varying stages of a craftspersons apprenticeship or skill. However this awl has not developed the heavy patina associated with Bronze Awls. Leahy (Leahy, K. 2003 Anglo-Saxon Crafts Tempus) illustrates a similar awl, Figure 44 E which is Anglo-Scandinavian and used for leather-working. A wooden handle would be attached to the shaft. The date of the recorded example is not certain.