Glencrutchery Jadeite Axehead

Date made: Early Neolithic

Description: Just under six thousand years ago, this highly-polished axehead found its way to the Isle of Man. The stone, jadeite, had been quarried from Monte Viso, a mountain in the Alps in northwestern Italy.

The pale green stone has been very carefully polished to give an incredibly smooth surface, with no signs of the blade-end ever having been used. An object like this must have been highly prized and a sign of some status in the early Neolithic period.

From objects like this, it is clear that even shortly after the first period of human occupation of the Isle of Man, the sea enabled contacts with people, cultures and things from much further afield. And it is also clear that there were people living on the Island at that time who could afford such valuable objects.

Materials: Stone

Date found: 1892-05-24

Object name: axehead

Collection: Archaeology Collection

ID number: L21302

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