Antler axe

Little is known about the circumstances surrounding the discovery of this tool, which was found by chance shortly after World War II, around 1946, at an unspecified location near Wolin. The artefact, made from deer antler, entered the archaeological collection of the Museum of Western Pomerania (now the National Museum in Szczecin) only in June 1961, having arrived from Świnoujście. Its state of preservation and the colour of its polished surface suggest that the object may have remained in a waterlogged environment for an extended period, surrounded by mineral sediments. Based on its morphological features, this find can be classified as an axe. Among prehistoric antler tools, axes and adzes were among the most common, particularly widespread among early communities of the Middle and Late Stone Age in the Central European Lowlands. However, the specimen from Wolin belongs to a unique category, with only a few similar finds recorded in Pomerania. Its shape resembles certain stone axes associated with communities of the Middle and Late Neolithic. Initially, it was thought to imitate so-called boat-shaped axes linked to the Late Neolithic Corded Ware culture. However, it is more likely that this object relates to specific types of axes found in the Funnel Beaker culture. A few antler tools from Pomerania imitate stone axes with knob-like butts and double blades. The closest known parallel to the Wolin axe is a find from Nowogardek in the Kołobrzeg municipality. Krzysztof Kowalski