This late Neolithic (c.3200-2400 BC) cushion macehead was found in a ‘kitchen midden’ at Smoogro, Orphir, Mainland, Orkney. It formed part of Lady John Scott’s collection and was donated to the National Museum in 1920.
The vast majority of cushion maceheads from Orkney are widest at their front end, while across the rest of Britain they tend to be widest at their centre. This example is unusual for Orkney, being widest at its centre, an it is notable that the raw material appears to have not parallels in Orkney, potentially indicating this artefact was imported in prehistory.
L: 106mm, B:44.5mm, T:31.9mm. W:237g.
NMS X.AH 152. © National Museums Scotland
This model was produced for a Leverhulme Trust funded project ‘Working stone, making communities: technology and identity on prehistoric Orkney’ Directed by Prof Mark Edmonds, University of York.
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