Shaft hole axe of the Fårdrup type, B5921. Massive four-sided shaft hole axe. The edge of the blade is convex and blunt, but it is said that it was sharp when it was found but that the edge was dulled after the children on the farm had played with the axe. The neck is convex. One short side is uneven and there are bubbles in the metal on all sides. The shaft hole is large, approx. 3.1 cm in diameter. The metal around the shaft hole is very thin, and the top of the shaft hole is incomplete. This is due to a casting failure; there was not enough metal to fill the mould. There was a fine layer of sand in the holes in the metal when the axe was found, possibly from the mold. The axe had never been used before it was deposited. It has a dark green patina, with some corrosion. Fårdrup type. Length: 16.4 cm. Width: c. 3.8 cm. Weight: 963.4 g.

Context:
The axe was found while digging the foundations of a barn, approx. 1900. The farmer had removed the topsoil and reached the underground, and the hole was left uncovered for a while, so that rain filled the hole. The farmer’s children played and dug in the hole and found the axe. As there was water in the hole, the exact depth could not be determined, although the farmer thought the axe must have been about 1 m deep.

Location:
Kvanngardsnes (gnr. 151/2), Volda, Møre & Romsdal

Date:
Axes of the Fårdrup type are dated to the Older Bronze Age period 1b.