Stone axe
3800-3500 B.C.
Width: 44mm
Thickness: 36mm
Hole diameter: 17mm
A hand-crafted stone axe. It has a streamline shape with a slightly damaged blade. A round hole was drilled to mount the tool on a wooden shaft. The blunt head is rounded in the outline and slightly convex. The entire surface was strongly polished. The axe is distinctive for its perfect proportions. It was modelled and polished with high precision and a lot of effort.
The exact location of its discovery or production is unknown. It is connected with the products of the so-called Funnel Beaker culture, characteristic of Małopolska during the fourth millennium before Christ. The exceptional quality of the axe, difficult to achieve even today indicates that it was not used for everyday tasks. It was a symbol of prestige and the owner’s high status within the community.
The axe is chunky and heavy and although slightly pitted is mostly shiny and smooth. It is reminiscent of the head of a contemporary hammer, displayed with its stumpy, rounded end, cradled in a small plastic cylinder. The opposite edge rises vertically and narrows to form the blade. The blade is slightly nicked. A hole for a wooden shaft has been drilled through the centre in the thickest place of the axe.
The streamlined form of the tool was processed with great care. The amount of labour required to make it was enormous.
The axe’s exceptional quality indicates that it was not used for everyday tasks. It was a symbol of the owner’s high status within the community.
The place of discovery or origin of the tool is unknown. Archaeologists don’t think it originates from Małopolska.