The aim of the project is to test if changes in the shape and hafting styles of Bronze Age axes from early through to late 2^nd millennium BC are motivated by increased efficiency. To test this hypothesis, replicas of an Early Bronze Age flat axe, a Middle Bronze Age palstave and a Late Bronze Age socketed axe (the latter with two different hafts) have been cast and hafted by traditional bronze-smith Neil Burridge (Bronze Age Craft). The axes were used in a series of controlled field tests involving the felling and sectioning of birch trees from Wallington, a National Trust site in Northumberland. Energy expenditure was also calculated by monitoring heart rate during the tests, and the wear traces generated on the axes were recorded and analysed with a stereomicroscope.

As the field tests were deemed inconclusive, further efficiency tests were planned, in which the axes were mounted on purpose-built rigs and tested in laboratory conditions. The rig tests are due to be completed in 2017. 

Project leader: Andrea Dolfini

Other project team: Tom Joyce, School of Mechanical and Systems Engineering, Newcastle University; Les Ansley, Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Northumbria University; Lindsay Allason-Jones OBE, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Newcastle University.

Contact: Andrea Dolfini

Sponsors: School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Newcastle University; The Great North Museum: Hancock

Partners: Great North Museum : Hancock; Neil Burridge, Bronze Age Craft; The National Trust Wallington

Project dates: 2014-2017

Project blog: Read the field tests blog written by Newcastle alumnus Joshua Desrosier: https://batwep.wordpress.com/