Spain (Galicia), the Atlantic Bronze Age to Iron Age transition period, ca. 1300 to 700 BCE. This is a rare find in the world of ancient weapons! A finely shaped bronze axe head with a rounded loop on one side and a flat, inset butt. Galicia remains a Spanish region to this day, high up in the mountains in the northwestern region of the country. 3000 years ago, people there began to build stone hillforts high up on the coastal cliffs. The builders of these hillforts were part of a coastal-based culture that spanned all the way to the Shetland Islands off the north coast of Britain to central Portugal. Galicia itself has over 2000 hillforts, a remarkably high density for this time period, because the mountainous area was rich in tin, a crucial component of the bronze alloy used to make this axe and others like it. The tin trade brought the people of Galicia into contact with farflung cultures, including those of early Classical antiquity. This axe looks very similar to one excavated at the Costa dos Castros project in 2015 which the excavators believe was made not for chopping or fighting but for trade with the eastern Mediterranean. Size: 6.9" L x 1.6" W (17.5 cm x 4.1 cm)

Provenance: Ex-Estate of John Piscopo. Mr. Piscopo was one of the largest collectors of ancient weapons in the US with a collection that spanned all cultures, all ages.

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#116371

Some corrosion to surface, with patina, but very clear shape.