Axe

The Ax(e) is an ancient and ubiquitous tool that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, harvest timber, as a weapon and a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many forms and specialized uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle, or helve.

Symbolism, ritual and folklore

At least since the late Neolithic, elaborate axes (battle-axes, T-axes, etc.) had a religious significance as well and probably indicated the exalted status of their owner. Certain types almost never show traces of wear; deposits of unhafted axe blades from the middle Neolithic (such as Somerset Levels in Great Britain) may have been gifts to the gods.

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In Minoan Crete, the double axe (labrys) had a special meaning. Double axes date back to the Neolithic as well. In 1998, a double axe, complete with an elaborately embellished haft, has been found at Cham-Eslen, Zug, Switzerland. The haft was 120 cm long and wrapped in ornamented birch-bark. The axe blade is 17,4 cm long and made of antigorite, mined in the Gotthard-area. The haft goes through a biconical drilled hole and is fastened by wedges of antler and by birch-tar. It belongs to the early Cortaillod culture.

Related Topics:
Double axe - Zug - Switzerland - Antigorite - Gotthard - Cortaillod culture

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In the Roman fasces, the axe symbolized the authority to decapitate.

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In folklore, stone axes were sometimes believed to be thunderbolts and were used to guard buildings against lightning, as, mythically, lightning never hits the same place twice. This has caused some skewing of axe distributions.

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Steel axes were important in superstition as well. A thrown axe could keep off a hailstorm, sometimes an axe was placed in the crops, with the cutting edge to the skies to protect the harvest against bad weather. An upright axe buried under the sill of a house would keep off witches, while an axe under the bed would assure male offspring.

Related Topics:
Superstition - Sill - Witches

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