English: CORONER'S REPORT

Circumstance of discovery

Late Bronze Age metal group comprising six bronze socketed axes, eight fragments of socketed axes, two fragments of a possible riveted sickle and ten ingot fragments. The objects were scattered in topsoil across an area of about 5 square metres, at a depth of between 7 to 25cm.

Description of objects

1. Socketed axe - Complete Southern English ribbed type. Trumpet mouthed, single collar from which a loop protrudes. This leads down to three equally spaced ribs on a straight sided body and a slightly flaring blade. The axe is fairly worn so that there may have two extra ribs though it is difficult to assess this with confidence. There is a visible casting seam and limited evidence for use or sharpening of the blade. The patina is dark green with light green corrosion.

L: 87.5mm; W: 39.0mm; Th: 35.0mm; Wt: 223.0g.

2. Bronze fragment. Light green patina with red brown corrosion with a pitted surface.

L: 39.5mm; W: 22.0mm; Th: 21.5mm; Wt: 97.6g.

3. Bronze fragment. Light green patina with extensive red brown corrosion with a pitted surface.

L: 15.0mm; W: 27.0mm; Th: 22.0mm; Wt: 129.7g.

4. Bronze plano-convex ingot fragment. Curving cast surface with light green patina with dull brown corrosion with a pitted surface.

L: 104.0mm; W: 66.5mm; Th: 33.5mm; Wt: 865.0g.

5. Bronze fragment. Light green patina, slightly pitted with heavy corrosion. One cast edge

L: 59.0mm; W: 56.0mm; Th: 19.5mm; Wt: 393.9g.

6. Bronze fragment. Light green patina with a pitted surface.

L: 41.5mm; W: 25.0mm; Th: 9.5mm; Wt: 42.1g.

7. Bronze plano-convex ingot fragment. Curving cast surfaces and broken edges. Light green patina with dark brown corrosion with a pitted surface.

L: 97.0mm; W: 59.0mm; Th: 35.5mm; Wt: 1016.4g.

8. Bronze socketed axe fragment. Broken collar and curved body fragment. Green patina with brown corrosion

L: 40.0mm; W: 36.0mm; Th: 4.0mm; Wt: 23.8g.

9. Socketed axe - Complete Southeastern type with drapery wing decoration. Double mouth moulding with a more prominent upper moulding and the loop protruding from the lower moulding. The body is sub-rectangular with angular corners leading down to fairly sharply flaring blade. Each body side has drapery wing decoration. The blade appears to have been broken. The patina is dark green with light green and brown corrosion.

L: 97.5mm; W: 42.0mm; Th: 35.5mm; Wt: 197.5g.

10. Socketed axe - Southeastern type plain A1. Double mouth moulding with a more prominent upper moulding and the loop protruding from the lower moulding. The body is sub-rectangular with angular corners leading down to fairly sharply flaring blade. The blade appears to have been completely broken off. The patina is dark green with light green and brown corrosion.

L: 81.5mm; W: 47.0mm; Th: 39.5mm; Wt: 173.4g

11. Socketed axe - Complete Southeastern type plain A1. Double mouth moulding with the loop protruding from the lower moulding. The body is sub-rectangular with angular corners leading down to slightly flaring blade. The blade is heavily worn. The patina is dark green with light green and brown corrosion.

L: 85.1mm; W: 41.0mm; Th: 35.0mm; Wt: 162.4g

12. Socketed axe - Complete Southeastern type plain A1. Double mouth moulding with a more prominent upper moulding and the loop protruding from the lower moulding. The body is sub-rectangular with angular corners leading down to fairly sharply flaring blade. The blade is chipped and worn. The patina is dark green with light green and brown corrosion.

L: 93.5mm; W: 40.5mm; Th: 31.0mm; Wt: 179.9g

13. Socketed axe - Southeastern type plain A1. Double mouth moulding with a more prominent upper moulding and the loop protruding from the lower moulding. The body is sub-rectangular with angular corners. The body and blade have been broken off around half way down the axe. The patina is dark brown with light green corrosion.

L: 52.5mm; W: 46.0mm; Th: 39.5mm; Wt: 114.4g

14. Socketed axe - Complete Southern English ribbed type. Trumpet mouthed, single collar from which a loop protrudes. This leads down to three equally spaced ribs on a straight sided body and a slightly flaring blade. There is a visible casting seam and part of the collar has been broken off through to the body. The patina is dark brown with light green corrosion.

L: 71.5mm; W: 43.5mm; Th: 35.5mm; Wt: 159.9g

15. Socketed axe blade. Part of body flaring sharply to complete chipped and worn blade. The patina is brown with dark green corrosion.

L: 60.0mm; W: 48.0mm; Th: 19.5mm; Wt: 130.7g

16. Socketed axe body fragment. Heavily broken, bent and corroded. Pitted surface with dark brown patina and light green corrosion.

L: 44.5mm; W: 32.0mm; Th: 16.0mm; Wt: 65.1g

17. Socketed axe blade. Part of body flaring sharply to fairly unworn blade. The patina is brown with dark green corrosion.

L: 46.0mm; W: 50.0mm; Th: 14.0mm; Wt: 88.9g

18. Socketed axe blade. Part of body flaring sharply to chipped and worn blade. The patina is brown with dark green corrosion.

L: 44.0mm; W: 39.5mm; Th: 16.5mm; Wt: 86.0g

19. Socketed axe blade. Broken part of body and slightly chipped blade. The patina is brown with dark green corrosion.

L: 38.5mm; W: 22.0mm; Th: 19.5mm; Wt: 52.4g

20. Socketed axe mouth and body part. Heavily worn collar leading down to two-three ribs and an angular body. The patina is brown with dark green corrosion.

L: 46.0mm; W: 34.5mm; Th: 7.0mm; Wt: 36.7g

21. Bronze plano-convex ingot fragment. Curving cast surface with light green patina with dull brown corrosion with a pitted surface.

L: 88.0mm; W: 49.0mm; Th: 18.0mm; Wt: 259.0g.

22. Bronze fragment. Light green patina with a pitted surface and brown corrosion.

L: 78.0mm; W: 44.0mm; Th: 19.5mm; Wt: 248.8g.

23. Bronze fragment. Dark green patina with a pitted surface and brown corrosion.

L: 46.0mm; W: 44.5mm; Th: 13.0mm; Wt: 173.0g.

24. Bronze ?sickle fragment. A pronounced stop-ridge with low tapering flanges leading towards a curving broken section that appears to have been a blade structure. There is one hole in the body of the stop-ridge together with a faint triangular imprinted decoration.

L: 69.0mm; W: 26.0mm; Th: 15.0mm; Wt: 48.0g.

25. Bronze ?sickle fragment. The terminal of the stop ridge of No. 24 with tapering flanges and broken ends.

L: 28.0mm; W: 12.0mm; Th: 3.0mm; Wt: 9.5g.

26. Bronze fragment. Dark green patina with a pitted surface and brown corrosion.

L: 26.0mm; W: 16.0mm; Th: 6.0mm; Wt: 10.6g.

Discussion

The Southeastern and South English ribbed socketed axes broadly dates the hoard to the Ewart Park metal phase (1000-800 BC) (Needham 1990; Needham et al. 1997). With the exception of the potential riveted sickle (Fox 1939, 137-139 possibly Group A), the remaining objects are bronze fragments of varying size. Several of these appear to have been part of plano-convex ingots. The drapery decoration on the southeastern socketed axe No. 9 is relatively rare in this country though recent parallels are known from Pencoyd, Herefordshire, Braintree, Essex (Butler 1976), Bognor Regis (Maraszek 2006, 606 Fig XVII) as well as several older hoards (see O'Connor 1980, 521 List 122) which includes Wateringbury and Stourmouth in Kent.

The placing of apparently scrap metal in the landscape is well documented during this period in Kent even in recent years though Offham lies beyond the traditional concentrations of hoards in east Kent (see Andrew Richardson's summary <a href="http://www.finds.org.uk/case_studies/bronze_age_hoards.php">http://www.finds.org.uk/case_studies/bronze_age_hoards.php</a>). Traditional interpretations see these as metalworkers' reserves stored for later use. However, the failure to recover so many stored metal objects implies that recovery may not always have been the aim. The only association with the hoard consists of two fragments of thick irregular pottery/stone. Conclusion

Though contextual details are sparse, it is probable that these objects formed a single original deposit or hoard dispersed through the actions of the plough seems very likely.