Macehead, cushion macehead

A Neolithic to Early Bronze Age polished stone cushion macehead dating 4,000 to 1,600 BCE. The stone used is a black silicified volcanic ash, banded black and white. The macehead has been shaped, ground and then polished with the perforation hand drilled, probably to hold a handle.

Maceheads were often made from spectacular rock that was specifically chosen for its visual impact and then worked to accentuate the beauty of the finished macehead. The stone was often non-local, travelling over long distances where it was traded via exchange, or these maceheads travelled as personal belongings as people travelled around.

To make a macehead the stone was selected, shaped, ground and then highly polished to create this smooth appearance. The perforation was hand-drilled and it probably held a handle. The work involved in creating these objects demonstrates the stoneworkers' skill and patience.

Many maceheads have signs of use as blunt weapons or hammers, others have no evidence of being used in a practical sense. This suggests they held a significance and value perhaps as a symbol of identity, status or connections with others. Within the Neolithic, it was entirely possible for objects to be both practical and symbolic.

These were popular objects within the Neolithic, but they are also known on Early Bronze Age sites, it may be a tradition that continued or ancient objects that were kept and curated.