An axe with a heel

This beautiful tool cast in bronze has a golden colour with a slightly greenish tinge, which indicates the patination process of the surface. The narrow, arched hilt topped with a small recess and the soft line of the fan-shaped blade give it elegance and lightness. It is undoubtedly a find of high aesthetic value, testifying to the ancient makers' skill and artistry. The axe was found in a swamp, most probably at the end of the 19th century, in unknown circumstances. What is known is that in 1891 it was donated to the collection of the Society of History and Antiquities of Pomerania (Towarzystwo Historii i Starożytności Pomorza) by Mr Manteuffel from Kołobrzeg, who had previously lived in Kołacz. Until August 1944, the axe remained in the collection of the Pommersches Landesmuseum in Stettin (Polish: Pomorskie Muzeum Krajowe w Szczecinie; English: Pomeranian State Museum in Szczecin), which took over the Society's entire archaeological collection. Due to repeated Allied air raids on the city, the axe, along with other valuable artefacts, was evacuated deep into Germany and hidden there from war damage and looting. It returned to the Szczecin collections in 2009 due to the Polish-German exchange of archaeological artefacts. The axe from Kołacz, dated to the 2nd Bronze Age (approx. 1600-1300 BC), is an isolated finding of this type in Pomerania. It is possible that we are dealing here with the so-called import, for example, from the area of Bohemia, where this form of axe originated, or from central Germany, Brandenburg or Silesia, where it occurs in more significant accumulation. The marshy context of the discovery indicates that it could have been a unique object: a gift offered in sacrifice to aquatic deities.

Dorota Kozłowska