This late Neolithic (c.3200-2400 BC) ‘Orkney pestle’ macehead was found in the passage of Taversoe Tuick Tomb, Rousay, Orkney, during excavations by Lieutenant-general Traill Burroughs of Rousay in 1898. The macehead was found in three fragments and has subsequently been repaired; the fragment at the butt has been burnt. Various flint tools, fragments of pottery vessels and animal bones were also recovered from the floor of the tomb.
This macehead exhibits strongly concave sides and faces and is an exceptionally fine example of the ‘Orkney pestle’ form.
An account of the excavation was published by William Turner in PSAS 1902-3. For further info see: https://canmore.org.uk/site/2634/rousay-taversoe-tuick
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.
L:81.3mm, B:50.3mm, T:43.3mm. W:176.4g.
NMS X.EO 378. © National Museums Scotland.
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