Antiquities

Relics of Power: Early Bronze Age Battle Axes

28 February 2025

Alex Tweedy

The most significant weapons of Early Bronze Age Europe were not forged from metal but shaped from stone. These remarkable artefacts, in use for over a millennium, were wielded by peoples across a vast expanse from the Baltic to the Atlantic. Far more than mere tools, they were symbols of power, prestige, and cultural identity, their forms and craftsmanship attesting to the sophistication of their creators.

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They are most closely associated with the archaeological Corded Ware Culture, a society distinguished by its distinctive cord-impressed pottery, which flourished across much of northern and central Europe. Skilled farmers, traders, and warriors, the people of this culture left behind burial sites rich with evidence of complex social structures and belief systems. Among the first to adopt and spread the use of copper and bronze, the Corded Ware people marked a pivotal shift in European metallurgy. Yet, it is the stone battle axes that stand out as some of their most diagnostic objects.

Diametrically aligned around a central perforation, these axe-hammers are finely sculpted, with intricate chiselled details that reveal an aesthetic intent behind their design. Among the most striking are the "boat-shaped" models, their sleek profiles reminiscent of Native American canoes (see lot 80), which are characteristic of the late Neolithic period.

André Grisse argued these objects were crafted with geometric precision, based on metric standards. He observed: "These artefacts convey a spiritual and ideological message. Their forms, shaped by geometric and mathematical principles, reflect cultural connections across Europe from the late 6th millennium to the mid-3rd millennium B.C. They bore invisible geometric traces, suggesting their creators' advanced understanding of design and symbolism. Those who carried these objects were likely not just warriors but also scholars or astronomers, connected to earthworks."

While their imposing forms may suggest a martial purpose, many clues point also to a ceremonial role. Though nothing can be said with absolute certainty about their use, the limited effectiveness of these axes as cutting tools combined with the significant effort required to produce them makes their function as everyday implements unlikely (though there is debate in this respect). Instead, their depiction on funerary stelae alongside warriors, coupled with the exceptional care in their craftsmanship, suggests they symbolised social status. Some examples may even have been influenced by the earliest copper axes emerging in south-eastern Europe during the 5th millennium B.C., reinforcing their symbolic significance.

So integral were these artefacts to local cultures that miniature versions were created, possibly for personal adornment or ritual use. In southern Sweden, such miniatures have been found in wetland deposits, likely offered as gifts to the watery realm, while in northern Germany, they appear in mortuary contexts linked to cremation practices. Interestingly, while full-sized battle axes are typically associated with male burials, smaller examples are found in contexts involving women and children, suggesting they may have held talismanic properties. Some miniatures display pounding wear on their edges, unseen on full-sized axes, hinting at their use as mortars, perhaps for grinding materials for rituals. These miniatures might even be precursors to Thor’s hammer pendants of the Viking Age.

LOT 79

FINE NEOLTIHIC STONE BATTLE AXE

NORTHERN EUROPE, POSSIBLY JUTLAND, NEOLITHIC PERIOD, C. 3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.

Carved basalt, of ovoid form, rising elegantly at the cutting edge, gently expanding towards the off-centre circular perforation before terminating in a rounded finial, raised on a bespoke mount, an ink collection number in the interior of the perforation, a short note written in black ink on the underside indicating a find date of 19th April 1915

Though we must be cautious when drawing direct connections, there is a further intriguing link between these ancient stone battle axes and the mythological world of the Viking Age, particularly through language. The people of the Corded Ware Culture are believed to have spoken an early form of the Indo-European language family. The Old Norse word hamarr, which describes Thor’s hammer, carries a dual meaning, both "hammer" and "rock." It's Indo-European roots, signifying "pointed," "sharp," and "stone," connect Thor’s weapon to the same qualities embodied by the stone axes wielded by the Corded Ware peoples. This linguistic link suggests that the hammer, much like the stone axes, was seen not just as a tool, but as an object imbued with power and symbolism deeply tied to the natural and metaphysical world.

These stone axes appear to have been passed down through generations, with the evidence shown in their wear patterns and reworked edges, indicating prolonged use and careful maintenance. Some axes show signs of resharpening or re-polishing, suggesting they were prized possessions, preserved and adapted for continued use. Their deposition in high-status burials hints at their role as cherished heirlooms, interred at significant moments - possibly the death of the final owner. Others were placed in liminal spaces, such as riverbanks, bogs, or hilltops, indicating they were offerings to mark transitions or connections between realms both physical and spiritual.

LOT 78

NORDIC STONE BATTLE AXE

SCANDINAVIA, NEOLITHIC PERIOD, C. 3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.

Carved stone, dual cutting edges featuring an elegant tapering form, with an off-centre circular perforation, the surface is smoothly finished with refined contours that emphasise its balanced proportions, raised on a bespoke mount

In later centuries and millennia, the discovery of these stone battle axes often occurred during ploughing, particularly following storms, when the soil was disturbed and these ancient artefacts emerged. Their striking forms, coupled with this timing, led to their association with "thunderstones", a folkloric belief that such objects were remnants of thunderbolts hurled by gods or supernatural beings. In many European traditions, these axes were thought to possess protective or magical properties, guarding homes from lightning, evil spirits, or even the mischief of trolls and fairies.

Originally symbols of power, these axes took on new meaning when they were rediscovered in fields, riverbanks, and other liminal spaces. This connection to celestial or magical power deepened their mystique, transforming them from simple tools into sacred relics. In this way, and in a manner that continues to resonate today, objects such as these have seen many lives, first as weapons, then as relics of forgotten pasts, and now as artefacts that continue to captivate and intrigue, bridging the ancient and the modern.

LOT 80

NEOLITIHC STONE "BOAT" AXE

NORTHERN EUROPE, LIKELY SWEDEN, NEOLITHIC PERIOD, C. 3RD MILLENNIUM B.C

Carved stone, with a sleek, elongated form tapering towards dual rounded cutting edges, a gently curved profile reminiscent of a boat with a central perforation, subtly recessed interior, the surface is smoothly finished with refined contours highlighting its symmetry, raised on a bespoke mount, centre marked ‘cc/70472’

^References

^{Axelsson, B. & Christensen, P.G.R. (eds.) (2004) The Corded Ware Culture in the Neolithic of Europe: A Social and Economic Approach.}

^{Beauvarlet, M. (2000) La Hache de Pierre à Travers le Monde. Paris: Editions Errance.}

^{Garrow, D. and Wilkin, N. (2022) The World of Stonehenge. London: British Museum Press.}

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Alex Tweedy

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