Siekierka brązowa z Falejówki

Abstract

The article is devoted to the find of a bronze socketed axe discovered in 2013 in Falejówka (Sanok district). The find was made on the top of Mount Wroczeń, several meters from the hoard of bronze items (Falejówka, hoard II), dated to HaA1. This artefact belongs to the so-called “beaked” or “horned” axes, but none of the numerous specimens of this type is an exact equivalent of the discussed find. Stylistic features – primarily the characteristic trident motif decorating it, which occurs on axes discovered mainly in today's Hungary – allow the item from Falejówka to be dated HaA1-HaB1. The quality of the casting proves that the axe was made with good knowledge of the mould technology and the processes of smelting and pouring the liquid alloy, using bronze with a low tin content. As for its composition, metals derived from sulphide ores, mainly antimony, have also been identified.

The article is devoted to the find of a bronze axe discovered in 2013 by Tomasz Podolak using a metal detector in Falejówka (Sanok district, Podkarpackie province). The discovery was made on the top of Mount Wroczeń several meters from the place where the hoard consisting of 40 bronze items was discovered (Falejówka, hoard II). Initially, it was even associated with this deposit, but eventually it was concluded that the place of discovery of the axe did not allow for its unequivocal association with the aforementioned assemblage. The axe was cast in a two-piece mould with a core and it was a good quality casting, made with knowledge of both the mould technology in terms of mould construction, core and metal pouring (gating) system, as well as high-temperature processes of smelting and pouring the liquid alloy. It resulted in casting the axe without defects, requiring only typical finishing works. There are traces of forging and grinding on the blade. In terms of the material characteristics of the alloy, the axe represents low-tin bronze. As for its composition, some metals received from sulphide ores, mainly antimony, have also been identified. The discussed axe belongs to a large and diverse group of socketed axes with an arched shape of the socket with an elongated edge of the mouth opposite to the base of a loop, referred to as “beaked” or “horned”. They occurred in the basin of the middle Danube and in the adjacent areas in a wide time frame, but none of the items known to the authors is an exact equivalent of the artefact from Falejówka. The main dating element is the characteristic trident motif decorating it, which appears on various types of axes, discovered primarily in the Carpathian Basin. Stylistic features allow the axe from Falejówka to be dated HaA1-HaB1. The find fits well with the picture that has emerged in recent years as a result of a series of discoveries on Mount Wroczeń, and confirms the special role of this elevation as a place of depositing collective hoards and individual items from at least the Late Bronze Age to the La Tène period.