Late Bronze Age stone axe with a wooden haft from Nagļi (eastern Latvia)
In 2022, a simple shaftÂhole stone axe was found in the village of Nagļi, RÄzekne district in eastern Latvia. In contrast to hundreds of other simple shaftÂhole axes, this specimen â representing the soÂcalled almondÂshaped type â is distinguished by the fragment of a wooden haft preserved in t...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Estonian Academy Publishers
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Eesti Arheoloogiaajakiri |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://kirj.ee/wp-content/plugins/kirj/pub/arch-1-2024-54-64_20240403100109.pdf |
| Summary: | In 2022, a simple shaftÂhole stone axe was found in the village of Nagļi, RÄzekne district in eastern Latvia. In contrast to hundreds of other simple shaftÂhole axes, this specimen â representing the soÂcalled almondÂshaped type â is distinguished by the fragment of a wooden haft preserved in the shaft hole. This provided a unique opportunity to date the axe: the Nagļi artefact is only the second Bronze Age shaftÂhole stone axe that has been directly radiocarbon dated in the eastern Baltic area. The result, 780â540 cal BC, confirms the typochronological conclusion that almondÂshaped axes were used in Latvia in the Late Bronze Age (1100â500 BC). However, it cannot confirm or refute their continued use in the PreÂRoman Iron Age (500â1 BC). Analysis of the haft revealed that it was made of oak (Quercus sp.), distinguishing it from previously analysed Bronze Age stone and metal axes in the eastern Baltic region, where ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) was often used. |
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| ISSN: | 1406-2933 1736-7484 |