Sunderland, River Wear, perforated axe hammer

HER Number:
393

District:
Sunderland

Site Name:
Sunderland, River Wear, perforated axe hammer

Place:
Sunderland

Map Sheet:
NZ35NE

Class:
Tools and Equipment

Site Type: Broad:
Striking Equipment

Site Type: Specific:
Axe Hammer

General Period:
Prehistoric

Specific Period:
Neolithic/Bronze Age

Form of Evidence:
Find

Description:
A perforated axe-hammer found in 1849 while dredging the River Wear at a depth of some 10 feet below the bed of the river, or 16 feet below low-water mark, about 300-400 yards above Sunderland Bridge. It was described as "of mottled greenstone….6.5 inches long, the faces are rounded, and the hole, which is about seven-eighths inch in diameter, tapers slightly towards the middle". The axe-hammer was stolen from the Black Gate museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle in 1947.

Easting:
395

Northing:
574

Grid Reference:
NZ395574

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 393 >> Archaeologia Aeliana, 1855, Donation, 1, IV, p. 13 J.W. Summers, 1858, The History...of Sunderland, p. 14 J. Evans, 1897, The Ancient Stone Implements...of Great Britain, 2nd edition, p. 193 Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle, 1889, 2, III (for 1887-88), p. 173 W. Page, ed. 1905, Early Man, Victoria County History, Durham, Vol. I, p. 200 W.C. Mitchell, 1919, History of Sunderland, p. 6 J.A. Petch, 1925, Roman Durham, Archaeologia Aeliana, 4, I,p. 30