Object histories in prehistoric Britain: a stone macehead from the West Kennet Avenue occupation site, southern Britain

Tsoraki, Christina, Bevins, Richard, Ixer, Rob, Pearce, Nick, Pollard, Joshua and Chan, Ben (2024) Object histories in prehistoric Britain: a stone macehead from the West Kennet Avenue occupation site, southern Britain. In, Verbaas, A., Langejans, G., Little, A. and Chan, B. (eds.) Artefact Biographies from Mesolithic and Neolithic Europe and Beyond: Papers in honour of Professor Annelou van Gijn. Leiden. Sidestone Press, pp. 169-182. (doi:10.59641/pp090sb).

Abstract

Maceheads are distinctive perforated stone objects that occur in Neolithic and Bronze Age sites across Europe. Maceheads of different forms have been found across Britain, but with a marked concentration in Scotland and especially in Orkney. Widely regarded as ceremonial objects, they have been invariably interpreted as weapons, or symbols of power and political authority. Such interpretations, however, do not generally rely on detailed technological studies. For the most part, the way maceheads were used or treated in different contexts remains rather elusive. Recent excavations at the West Kennet Avenue occupation site, located a few hundred meters from the massive henge at Avebury, Southern Britain, brought to light a stone macehead. The site represents a significant episode of Middle Neolithic occupation, a period for which settlement evidence is generally scarce, and is located in a region in which maceheads are uncommon. Previous research on British prehistoric maceheads has demonstrated a strong association between stone maceheads and Grooved Ware sites dating to the later Neolithic, whilst earlier Middle Neolithic examples made from antler are often associated with burials. Therefore, the occurrence of a stone macehead on a Middle Neolithic settlement site is intriguing. The all-over polished ovoid macehead is grey to reddish brown in colour and, like many other examples across Britain and Europe, is broken. Inspired by Annelou van Gijn’s rigorous attention to object biographies, this paper will attempt to bring to life the biographical associations of the macehead. Questions about the making, use and breaking (intentional or not) of the macehead will be addressed through detailed technological and microwear analysis.

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Contributors

Author: Joshua Pollard

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