Lewis, Shulishader

NB53SW 11 5320 3440.

Formerly located erroneously at Shader Point, Barvas (NB 38 54) and entered as NB35SE 17.

RMS AF 1097. Axe bears no evidence of use and is macroscopically consistent with Antrim porcellanite. Haft is of rosaceous wood (hawthorn, apple, pear or quince), most probably hawthorn. No traces of additional binding material were found. Deliberate deposition, perhaps as a votive object, is considered at least as probable as accidental loss.

Information from Dr J A Sheridan (Dept. of Archaeology, Royal Museum of Scotland), 1992.

Axe haft, Rosaceae sp., found 1982 during peat cutting at NGR NB 532 344 (Sheridan 1992a). Single piece haft with oval socket; found with stone axehead (thought to be of imported Antrim porcellanite) in situ, at a depth of 40-50cm (15-25cm above the mineral soil). An estimated 1-2m of peat had already been stripped from the area.

OxA-3537 Shulishader, wooden axe haft, NMS AF 1097, d13C = -26.7%

4470+/-95bp (520bc).

Only 10 other extant stone axe hafts are known from Britain and Ireland and this is the first to be dated. Date (c. 3495-2910 cal BC, 2 sigma) fits with known period of use of porcellanite axes (Sheridan 1986; Sheridan et al. 1992). Sample has been pretreated to remove acetone rosin.

NMRS, MS/735/1.