Langdale stone axes are products of a prehistoric center for the production of stone tools of the Neolithic era. The center is located in the Great Langdale Valley, near the town of Ambleside , County Cumbria , England .
In the vicinity of Langdale, fine-grained jade or porphyry is found on the surface, suitable for the manufacture of polished axes , widely used in prehistoric Britain .
Content
Petrographic analysis
Archaeologists have been able to establish the unique nature of Langdale stone tools by examining their sections using a microscope. A unique structure was discovered at the slice, which made it possible to reconstruct manufacturing methods, as well as trade routes for ax manufacturers. In the Langdale region, both rough and well-polished and well-polished products were produced, which represented the subject of trade throughout Great Britain and Ireland. Polishing rough surfaces increased ax penetration by reducing friction with wood.
Some axes look worn, others look intact; Thus, if the former were used as working tools, the latter could be cult. The shape of the polished axes suggests that they were inserted into wooden bases (see figure) and used to clear the forest. Due to the hardness of the rock from which these axes were made, they became a good alternative to the flint axes common at that time.
Manufacturers of these axes built some of the early Neolithic cromlechs, in particular, the Stone Circle in Castlerigge .
See also
- Stone ax
- Celt (archeology)
- Adze
Literature
- Fell C. The Great Langdale stone-ax factory // Trans Cumberland and Westmorland Antiq. and Arch. Soc. - 1950. - 50. - p. 1-13.