CORN-B19EC0: Palstave

Incomplete cast copper alloy side-looped transitional type shelf, midribbed variant palstave, missing its stop ridge and butt end, dating from the penard (c.1275-1150 bc) phase or perhaps a late palstave, type silsden, dating from the wilburton phase (c.1150-1020 bc) of the middle bronze age. the palstave has a straight sided blade with the sides almost parallel and very little expansion towards the cutting edge which is 29 mm in width, with one corner of edge missing. there is a wide central rib on each face of the blade that is about 47 mm in length on both sides and 11 mm in width, just below the stop ridge, and tapers to 9 mm towards the end of blade. the base of the stop ridge remains on both sides, creating a t-shape in profile, so that the depth of the broken edge is 30 mm. on one side of the palstave the base of the side-loop survives below stop ridge, but the loop and its upper attachment are missing with the rest of the hafting end of the palstave, which would have held the handle. the surface of the blade is damaged, corroded and pitted and the original edge is missing down one side of the blade.

schmidt & burgess (1981) illustrate similar palstaves with wide midribs and narrow inset blades from aldwick-le-street and saddleworth, west yorkshire in plates 62-63, nos.851 & 864, which are classified as transitional palstaves, type shelf, midribbed variant and dated from the penard phase of the middle bronze age; and late palstaves illlustrated in plates 66-67, nos.907 & 924, from wallington, northumberland and silsden west yorkshire, type penrith and type silsden (like type shelf) which date from the wilburton / wallington phase of the middle bronze age.

knight, ormrod & pearce (2015) illustrate a slender palstave with a wide mid-rib and narrow blade from cornwall (but unlocated and in the royal ontario museum) on p.93, pl.20, no.88.