Copenhagen Museum Home

Neolithic polished flint Axe-head

Outside Hviids Vinstue at Kongens Nytorv a Neolithic type polished flint axe-head was retrieved.

By find coordinator Stuart Whatley and field archaeologist Olle Heimer 

 

The axe-head is only slightly worn and was found in a sand and gravel deposit, near the bottom of a trench just above the natural clay. The whitish grey flint axe-head has a rectangular cross section with a gentle posterior taper and slight chipping on the cutting edge. It measures 198mm x 62mm. Future study may reveal the flint source.

 

Origin and use

It has been dated to the middle Neolithic period (2800-2400BC) by style and the morphology of other similar dated flint axe-heads. Originally it may have been attached to a wooden haft and used to fell trees. It was found protuding from a sterile alluvial sandy deposit (which may have represented a former beach), and was probably dumped here in prehistory, within the Neolithic period. It is also possible that it may also have been dumped here in the medieval period.

 

Possible re-use as a Stone of thunder?

If it has been dumped in the medieval period it is possible that the axe may have been an heirloom and an example of the superstitious nature of medieval Copenhageners. In ethnological sources Falk suggests that flint axes are mentioned as “Stones of thunder”. They were believed to be the light within the lightning bolt. As lightning doesn’t strike twice on the same spot, these objects that were supposed to be created by the lightning itself, was a perfect protection against thunder. They were walled into foundations of the building, or placed somewhere else within the structure. The axes could also prevent milk from getting sour and if they were put into the child’s cradle, it would prevent the child from being exchanged by the trolls. (2008; 126)
Although the axe was not found within a structure, it may be linked to a structure that has since been destroyed by the constructions of new buildings along Lille Kongensgade in the early 1700s. As stated above, it may also just be residual within a medieval deposit and not noticed within the gravel.

References: Falk, N. (2008): En Grundlaggande handling, Byggnadsoffer och dayligt liv i medeltid. Nordic Academic Press.