Boldon Hills, two stone axes

HER Number

17545

District

S Tyneside

Site Name

Boldon Hills, two stone axes

Place

West Boldon

Map Sheet

NZ36SW

Class

Monument <By Form>

Site Type: Broad

Findspot

Site Type: Specific

Axe

General Period

PREHISTORIC

Specific Period

Neolithic -4,000 to -2,200

Form of Evidence

Find

Description

Two stone axes were found by a member of the public in fields east of Downhill Quarry and north-west of Nanny Cow Hill, where a barrow was located. The axes were identified as being Neolithic in date by Dr Rob Young on 1 November 2016. One is black and is probably basalt or dolerite. The other is green and is probably Group VI rock from the Lake District. The green axe has been damaged by the plough. The axes have been retained by the finder.

Easting

434930

Northing

560510

Grid Reference

NZ434930560510

Sources

Personal comment, Dr Rob Young, 1 November 2016; Clough, T.H.McK. and Cummins, W. (eds) 1979 Stone Axe Studies. CBA Research Report No. 23, London: Council for British Archaeology; Clough, T.H.McK. and Cummins, W. (eds) 1988 Stone Axe Studies Volume 2. CBA Research Report No. 67, London: Council for British Archaeology; Claris, P. and Quartermaine, J. 1989 'The Neolithic quarries and axe-factory sites of Great Langdale and Scafell Pike: a new field survey', Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. 55, 1-25; Edmonds M, 1995, Stone Tools and Society. London, Batsford; Edmonds M, 2004, The Langdales: Landscape and Prehistory in a Lakeland Valley. Stroud, Tempus; Edmonds, M. R., & Bradley, R. (1993). Interpreting the Axe trade :Production and exchange in Neolithic Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; Young, R, 1994 'Polished stone axes between the Tyne and the Tees', Durham Archaeological Journal 10, 1-12