Axe Hammer, Locharbriggs

  Found in a drainage ditch in 1947, this item which is on loan from the Antiquarian Society is a plain axe hammer with a shaft hole in the centre, with an hour glass shaped side profile. This axe has an outward curved cutting edge with a square flattened butt and is made of a gritty yellow coloured stone.   Axe hammers   The most numerically important finds, axe hammers were also primarily weapons of war. Many axe hammers have been found close to the town of Dumfries and were often made of locally available stone. As they are rarely found as part of a grave group, they are difficult to date. Axe hammers are often found in river valleys, and it has been suggested that there may be a connection between the distribution of axe hammers and the working of copper ores. Large heavy axe hammers may also have been used as agricultural tools.   Producing tools like these took time. After selecting an appropriate rock, a hammer was used to create the rough shape. The Bronze Age stone mason would have continued pecking at the rock, using smaller and finer tools as the work progressed. The shaft hole would have been made by drilling from both sides, perhaps with a section of antler or bone in a bow drill.   Many of these implements have a polished surface, which was achieved by rubbing on a wetted stone slab, perhaps using sand as an abrasive.