Clough, T.H.McK., Cummins, W.A. (Eds.), 1988. Stone Axe Studies Volume 2:  The Petrology of Prehistoric Stone Implements from the British Isles, CBA Research Report No. 67. London, Council for British Archaeology.

The following description is reproduced from the Archaeological Data Service Website archive of this publication (ADS 2012; courtesy of the Archaeological Data Services and The Council for British Archaeology).

A PDF of this volume is available here or here.

ABSTRACT

In this volume the Implement Petrology Committee of the Council for British Archaeology presents the results of examining over 7500 stone implements from the British Isles. These artefacts range in date from the earliest Neolithic — even earlier in some cases — to the Bronze Age; in type from polished stone axes to archers’ wrist guards; in quality from the finest jade to the coarsest rough out; and in composition from chalk to granite. They come from many known rock sources and places of manufacture, as far apart as the tip of Cornwall to the Northern Isles of Scotland, and from the random exploitation of glacial boulders far removed from their geographical origin. Together these implements comprise an extraordinarily extensive and varied cross-section of the stone tools and weapons made and used in Britain over a period of at least 3000 years.

CONTENTS

  • Title pages
  • Contents (pp v-vi)
  • List of illustrations (p vi)
  • List of distribution maps (p vii)
  • List of tables (p vii)
  • Preface (p ix)
  • Introduction to the regional reports: Prehistoric stone implements from the British Isles by T H McK Clough (pp 1-10)
  • Addendum (p 11)
  1. A method for taking petrological samples from stone implements by M B Fentin and R J A Travis (pp 12-13)
  2. The petrological identification of stone implements from south-west England: sixth report by R V Davis, Hilary Howard and I F Smith (pp 14-20)
  3. The petrological identification of stone implements from south-east England by A G Woodcock, D B Kelly and A R Woolley (pp 21-33)
  4. The petrological identification of stone implements from London and Middlesex by T H McK Clough and W A Cummins (pp 34-36)
  5. The petrological identification of stone implements from East Anglia by Barbara Green (pp 36-40)
  6. The petrological identification of stone implements from the south-east Midlands by W A Cummins and W R G Moore (pp 41-44)
  7. The petrological identification of stone implements from the east Midlands: third report by T H McK Clough and W A Cummins (pp 45-48)
  8. The petrological identification of stone implements from the West Midlands: third report by F W Shotton (pp 49-51)
  9. The petrological identification of stone implements from Yorkshire: second report by Patricia Phillips, W A Cummins and Laurence Keen (pp 52-59)
  10. The petrological identification of stone implements from Lancashire and Cheshire by G R Coope, D J Robinson and F E S Roe (pp 60-66)
  11. The petrological identification of stone implements from the Isle of Man by G R Coope and L S Garrad (pp 67-70)
  12. The petrological identification of stone implements from Cumbria by C I Fell and R V Davis (pp 71-77)
  13. The petrological identification of stone implements from north-east England by W A Cummins and A F Harding (pp 78-84)
  14. The petrological identification of stone axes from Scotland by P R Ritchie and J G Scott (pp 85-91)
  15. The petrological identification of stone battle-axes and axe-hammers from Scotland by M B Fenton (pp 92-132)
  16. The petrological identification of stone implements from Wales by C H Houlder (pp 133-136)
  17. The petrological identification of stone implements from Ireland by E L Francis, P J Francis and J Preston (pp 137-140)
  • Lists of identifications (pp 141-264)
  • Distribution map of grouped implements (pp 265-288)
  • Index (pp 289-297)