Skip to main content Accessibility statement

We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience.

By clicking the Accept button, you agree to us doing so. More info on our cookie policy.

Histories of Northamptonshire
View in timeline

Iron Age Axe Head

Iron Age 800 - 43 CE Geologic to Prehistoric

A socketed axe made by casting iron in a mould. It probably reflects the transition from bronze to iron metalworking in the early Iron Age.

Iron Age socketed axe made from cast iron © NMAG
Iron Age socketed axe made from cast iron
Wrought iron socketed axe head - view of all sides showing hollow socket © Creative Commons Share Alike Licence
Wrought iron socketed axe head - view of all sides showing hollow socket

This complete Iron Age socketed axe was found at Courteenhall, Northampton.

The axe, which is in the style of a late Bronze Age, has a hollow central socket, into which the wooden haft (handle) was inserted. It is one of a small number of socketed axes made from wrought iron. It would have been made in a two-part mould with a sand or clay core to form the hollow socket. This type of axe was replaced with axes in which the haft passes through an eye, much like modern axes. It represents the transition from bronze to iron.

Around 800 BCE people in Britain learnt how to use iron, dramatically changing everyday life. Iron tools made farming much easier, and settlements grew in size. The Iron Age, around 800 BCE to 43 CE saw iron become increasingly popular. It was stronger and could hold a sharper edge and was more widely available due to plentiful iron ore.

During the Iron Age, the Celtic people spread across Europe, with many settling in Britain. By the end of the period, impressive hill forts like Hunsbury Hill in Northampton reflected the engineering, defensive and organisational skills of their makers. These may have been built as a defence against hostile neighbours or as status symbols for local chiefs. Hunsbury is a multivallate fort, with two or more defensive banks and ditches to confuse and repel attackers.

Number 16 of the objects selected for the A History of Northamptonshire in 100 Objects Exhibition 2025

2nd Image: Creative Commons Share Alike Licence The Portable Antiquities Scheme

Courtenhall
Contributed by NMAG
Previous object
Next object

Related objects

  • glazed shouldered roof tiles medieval © Andy Chapman
    Medieval to Tudor

    Glazed ceramic shouldered roof tile from St. James' Abbey, Northampton

    This is a rare type of medieval ceramic roof tile, replaced in the 13th century by standard rectangular ceramic or nib tiles used until the 20th century. The rarity of these roof tiles and their association with buildings of high status in Northampton, both religious and secular, is of historical and archaeological significance.

  • Flint dagger from Bronze Age barrow at Stanwick Lakes. © NMAG
    Geologic to Prehistoric

    Bronze Age Flint Dagger

    This flint dagger was found in a male burial in a barrow along with other grave goods. It had never been used so may have been an ornamental or ritual piece.

  • Roman coin hoard buried in Wootton Fields, Northampton. © NMAG
    Roman and Early Medieval

    Wootton Coin Hoard

    Containing over 1900 coins this Roman hoard was found in Wootton Fields. They were buried during the later Roman period in a black pot.

  • Neolithic flint axe found in Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire © NMAG
    Geologic to Prehistoric

    Thorpe (Neolithic) Axe

    The Thorpe axe, named after the finder of the Axe in the inter-war years, is a large neolithic flint axe found in Higham Ferrers.