Stray Finds

Abstract

A fairly large number of bronze axes must have been in use in Indonesia, but many of these have no doubt been melted down in the course of the centuries in order to make them into ornaments. This tendency no doubt increased with the gradual substitution of iron for bronze in the manufacture of implements. The axes of the period as known to us are of diverse dimensions; the Museum at Djakarta for instance has a specimen measuring 299 × 143 × 31 mm., whereas another is only 45 × 37 × 10 mm. Furthermore, there are short axes which are wide, and long ones which are slender. The tail end is usually straight but sometimes swallowtail-shaped; the cutting edge is usually fan-shaped. Common to all axes is a hollow socket of circular or oval section in which the haft is to fit for tying to the handle. The surface of the axe is smooth except for that of a few specimens which have one or two pairs of ribs, emanating from the centre of the socket and diverging towards the extreme points of the cutting edge. (Pl. 1; Fig. 2 & 3).