Ancient British Jade Axe

It’s not commonly known that the ancient Britons had axes made from jade. There is one in the British Museum which was found near Canterbury and is estimated to be about six thousand years old.

Jade Axe used by ancient Britons 6000 years ago

This axe is thinner and wider than most stone age axes. It looks as good as new and is apparently still very sharp. Like all jade its cool to the touch and so well polished that it remains pleasingly smooth. It was never used as an axe, as there are no signs of wear and tear at all. It may well have been for ceremonial use. It would have been a very expensive item in those far distant days.

For a long time scientists were puzzled where the jade originated. This puzzle was solved in the twenty first century. In 2003, after 12 years of searching, archaeologists Pierre and Anne-Marie Pétrequin, finally found the prehistoric jade quarries this axe came from – in the Italian Alps about 2000m above sea level. Using the stone’s geological signature, not only did they find the quarry where the jade for the axe originated they even identified the boulder it was taken from. That boulder is still there, high among the clouds.

I think the fact that it was never used to chop down trees was because the jade it was made from was treasured for its beauty. It seems that people six thousand years ago found jade just as beautiful as we do today. Oh, and it’s a jadeite axe. Not nephrite.