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The Garboldisham Macehead: its Manufacture, Date, Archaeological Context and Significance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2017

Andrew Meirion Jones ,
Marta Díaz-Guardamino ,
Alex Gibson  and
Sylvia Cox
Andrew Meirion Jones
Affiliation:
Archaeology, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BF Email: amj@soton.ac.uk
Marta Díaz-Guardamino
Affiliation:
School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, John Percival Building, Colum Drive, Cardiff CF10 3EU
Alex Gibson
Affiliation:
School of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP
Sylvia Cox
Affiliation:
Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, Dane Tree House, Perry Green SG10 6EE
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Abstract

The paper discusses the Garboldisham macehead: an unusual decorated macehead carved from red deer antler. The macehead was found in the 1960s deposited in a tributary of the river Little Ouse, Norfolk and is decorated with three spirals, making it especially significant. This paper reports on the analysis of the decoration using digital imaging, discusses a new radiocarbon date recently obtained for the artefact, and discusses its significance alongside other dated antler maceheads.

Résumé

[10P]La tête de massue de Garboldisham: sa fabrication, sa datation, son contexte et sa signification archéologiques, de Andrew Meirion Jones, Marta Díaz-Guardamino, Alex Gibson, et Sylvia Cox

Cet article traite de la tête massue de Garboldisham: une massue décorée inhabituelle sculptée dans un bois de cerf. La tête de massue fut découverte dans les années 1960 reposant dans un affluent de la rivière Little Ouse, Norfolk, elle est décorée de trois spirales, ce qui la rend particulièrement significative.Cet article rend compte de l’analyse de la décoration au moyen de l’imagerie numérique, examine une nouvelle datation au C14 de l’artefact obtenue récemment et discute de sa portée à côté d’autres têtes de massue en bois de cerf datées.

Zussamenfassung

Der Keulenkopf von Garboldisham: Herstellung, Datierung, archäologischer Kontext und Bedeutung, von Andrew Meirion Jones, Marta Díaz-Guardamino, Alex Gibson, und Sylvia Cox

Dieser Beitrag erörtert den Keulenkopf von Garboldisham: eine ungewöhnliche verzierte Keule, die aus Rothirschgeweih hergestellt wurde. Der Keulenkopf wurde in den 1960er Jahren in einem Zufluss des Flusses Little Ouse, Norfolk, gefunden und ist mit drei Spiralen verziert, was ihn besonders bedeutsam macht. Dieser Beitrag stellt die Untersuchung der Verzierung mit Hilfe von digitalen Bildanalyseverfahren vor, diskutiert ein neues Radiokarbondatum, das jüngst am Artefakt gewonnen wurde, sowie dessen Bedeutung in Zusammenhang mit weiteren datierten Keulenköpfen aus Geweih.

Resumen

La maza de Garboldisham: manufactura, cronología, contexto arqueológico y significado, por Andrew Meirion Jones, Marta Díaz-Guardamino, Alex Gibson, y Sylvia Cox

Este artículo estudia la maza de Garboldisham: una inusual maza decorada con grabados elaborada en asta de ciervo. La maza fue documentada en los años 1960 como un depósito realizado en un afluente del río Little Ouse, Norfolk y está decorada con tres espirales, convirtiéndola en un objeto especialmente destacado. Este artículo se centra en el análisis de su decoración mediante el escaneo digital, y discute la nueva datación radiocarbónica recientemente obtenida a partir del artefacto y su significado junto a otras mazas realizadas en asta.

Keywords

Digital imagingdecorationmaceheadMiddle Neolithicspiralradiocarbon dating
Type
Shorter Contribution
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 83 , December 2017 , pp. 383 - 394
Copyright
© The Prehistoric Society 2017 

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References

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