PRINCIPAL NEOLITHIC AND EARLY BRONZE AGE AXE RAW MATERIAL EXTRACTION SITES
Photographs of a selection of sites visited by IPG members, mostly during the groups field visits. Each of these sites preserve the remains of Neolithic or Early Bronze Age quarry activity.
Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, England
No precise source has been identified for axes of this group (Group XX), but the general area has been located (for more information see Shotton 1959). Unfortunately, very few of the potential outcrops are publicly accessible.
County Antrim Coast, Northern Ireland
Flint and chalk outcrops along the coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland (for more information see Collins 1979).
The rock outcrops on the County Antrim Coast Northern Ireland.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
The rock outcrops on the County Antrim Coast Northern Ireland.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Cwm Mawr in Powys, Wales
Source of Group XII battle-axes and axe-hammers (For more information see Shotton Et al. 1951)
Photograph of the Group XII source Cwm Mawr. © Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Cwmystwyth in Ceredigion, Wales
The Site of an extensively excavated Early Bronze Age copper mine (for more information see Timberlake 2003).
The Cwmystwyth Extraction Site.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
The Cwmystwyth Extraction Site.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Graig Lwyd, Penmaenmawr, Conwy, Wales
Source of Group VII axes (Williams and Davidson 1998) Much of the original mountain has been quarried away, but some areas of axe working remain.
The Graig Lywd, Penmaenmawr.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
A Group VII Axe Source.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Great Orme in Conwy, Wales
Site of the largest surviving Bronze Age copper mine in Europe (for more information see Dutton et al. 1994).
The Great Orme Copper Mine.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
The Great Orme, Conwy, Wales.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Grimes Graves in Norfolk, England
An extensive area of Neolithic flint mines (for more information see Healey et al. 2018; Mercer 1981). English Heritage now manages the site.
Grimes Graves Flint mines, Norfolk, England.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Grimes Graves Flint mines, Norfolk, England.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Lambay Island, near Dublin, Ireland
A Source of porphyritic axes (for more information see Cooney 2005)
Lambay Island, near Dublin, Ireland.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
The Source at Lambay Island.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Langdale in Cumbria, England
The largest surviving axe production area in the British Isles and source of Group VI axes (Claris et al. 1989)
The Langdale Pikes. © Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
The Langdale Group VI Axe Source. © Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Langdale Greenstone.
© Paul R Preston 2020
Mynydd Parys on Anglesey, Wales
Early Bronze Age copper mine with early shafts still preserved below 19th-century spoil heaps (for more information see Jenkins 2003).
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 20212021
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 2021
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 2021
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 2021
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 2021
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 2021
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 2021
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 2021
The Mynydd Parys EBA Copper Mine, Anglesey, Wales. © Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
The Mynydd Parys EBA Copper Mine, Anglesey, Wales. © Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 2021
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 2021
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 2021
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 2021
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 2021
The Mynydd Parys Early Bronze Age Copper Mine on Anglesey, Wales. © IPG 2021
Mynydd Rhiw in Gwynedd, Wales
Hillside marked by extensive Neolithic quarrying (for more information see Burrow 2011).
The Mynydd Rhiw Rock Source.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
The Mynydd Rhiw Rock Source.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Penzance in Cornwall, England
The general area from which Group I axes were derived – now presumed to be submerged (for more information see Markham 2009)
The general area of the rock source for Group I Axes in Penzance. © Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Carn Meini, Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire, Wales
Carn Meini, the most famous of the outcrops in the Preseli Hills and one of the sources of the Stonehenge bluestones (for more information see Thorpe et al. 1991).
Carn Meini, a Bluestone Source in the Preseli Hills.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
A Bluestone Source in the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Rathlin Island off County Antrim, Ireland
One of the sources of Group IX axes (for More Information see Forsythe 2012; Cooney & Mandal 1998).
Rathlin Island off County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
One of the Group IX Axe Sources, Rathin Island.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Tievebulliagh in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland
Another of the sources of Group IX axes. (for more information see Mallory 1990; Cooney & Mandal 1998)
Tievebulliagh in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
© Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021
Flint and Chalk Outcrops, Tievebulliagh in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. © Steve Burrow/National Museum Wales 2021