EARLY MAN 



again links the varieties of axes, in that it seems to have been used to some 

 extent as an axe-hammer, though not fashioned for that purpose. 



A smaller implement of similar form was found in the old bed of the 

 Roch [iormerly RoacA] stream, near Oakenrod, Rochdale, and is thus described 

 by its former owner : ' It is 4 in. long, and the hole for the handle is unusually 

 large, being nearly an inch in diameter. The clearly-marked ridge which 

 runs on two sides of the stone would seem to indicate that the implement 

 was made in imitation of a cast metal one.' * The surmise is more than 

 possible. The smoothed perforated implements of stone are for the most part 

 indubitably of the Bronze Age ; indeed Sir John Evans shows good reason to 

 believe that perforated stone implements in general belong to a time subse- 

 quent to the introduction of metal-working. 



A third example also from near Manchester, shown in fig. 6, is 

 typical of this class. It was found near Turkey Lane, Queen's Park, 

 Harpurhey, 3 ft. from the surface, in clay. It is of gritstone, described as 

 'grained sandstone, with decomposition on the surface.' Its length is 6|in., 

 width 2| in., and greatest height 3 in. The top surface is gently hollowed 

 towards the socket hole ; and the lower side is partly chipped and broken 

 away. At the one end the 

 sides curve rapidly to the 

 sharpened edge, while the 

 other end preserves its ori- 

 ginal curved form unbroken. 

 It is a good specimen. The 

 annexed diagram is due to 

 the courtesy of the curator 

 of the Queen's Park Mu- 

 seum at Manchester, where 

 the object is preserved. 



To this class must be 

 referred also a series of implements of larger and rougher character, all of 

 them from North Lancashire. The record of them^ is fairly clear, and 

 in some cases the implements themselves have been preserved. From 

 Bowland is a specimen i o| in. long, with a width and depth respectively 

 of 3 J in. The perforation varies from i|.in. to ijin. in diameter, and is 

 placed far back from the sharp edge, dividing the implement at J to 

 i of its length. The edge is very chipped and the opposite end preserves a 

 well-rounded form. The object is heavy and massive in appearance ; it was 

 obviously designed as a single axe and was used as such. It was found, it 

 is related, in i860, in draining near Cow Ark in Bowland, 'a short distance 

 from the Roman Road.' 



A second specimen is from Claughton. It was found near the surface 

 of the ground in a field near the Hall, where it now remains. It is of a 

 more solid and smaller design than the last. Its length is 7J in., with a 

 width, however, of 4 in. and height of about 3^ in. The hole, which is 

 more centrally placed, is unusually large, varying from ijin., in the middle, 

 to 2 J in, in diameter. As in the previous instance, the broad cutting edge 



1 Fishwick, op. cit. p. 13, with figure. The object is now in the Rochdale Museum. 



2 Weld MSS. 



221 



Fig. 6. — Section of Stone Axe from Harpurhey, Manchester. 

 Scale, I : 2 linear. (Queen's Park Museum, Manchester.) 



