EARLY MAN again links the varieties of axes, in that it seems to have been used to some extent as an axe-hammer, though not fashioned for that purpose. A smaller implement of similar form was found in the old bed of the Roch [iormerly RoacA] stream, near Oakenrod, Rochdale, and is thus described by its former owner : ' It is 4 in. long, and the hole for the handle is unusually large, being nearly an inch in diameter. The clearly-marked ridge which runs on two sides of the stone would seem to indicate that the implement was made in imitation of a cast metal one.' * The surmise is more than possible. The smoothed perforated implements of stone are for the most part indubitably of the Bronze Age ; indeed Sir John Evans shows good reason to believe that perforated stone implements in general belong to a time subse- quent to the introduction of metal-working. A third example also from near Manchester, shown in fig. 6, is typical of this class. It was found near Turkey Lane, Queen's Park, Harpurhey, 3 ft. from the surface, in clay. It is of gritstone, described as 'grained sandstone, with decomposition on the surface.' Its length is 6|in., width 2| in., and greatest height 3 in. The top surface is gently hollowed towards the socket hole ; and the lower side is partly chipped and broken away. At the one end the sides curve rapidly to the sharpened edge, while the other end preserves its ori- ginal curved form unbroken. It is a good specimen. The annexed diagram is due to the courtesy of the curator of the Queen's Park Mu- seum at Manchester, where the object is preserved. To this class must be referred also a series of implements of larger and rougher character, all of them from North Lancashire. The record of them^ is fairly clear, and in some cases the implements themselves have been preserved. From Bowland is a specimen i o| in. long, with a width and depth respectively of 3 J in. The perforation varies from i|.in. to ijin. in diameter, and is placed far back from the sharp edge, dividing the implement at J to i of its length. The edge is very chipped and the opposite end preserves a well-rounded form. The object is heavy and massive in appearance ; it was obviously designed as a single axe and was used as such. It was found, it is related, in i860, in draining near Cow Ark in Bowland, 'a short distance from the Roman Road.' A second specimen is from Claughton. It was found near the surface of the ground in a field near the Hall, where it now remains. It is of a more solid and smaller design than the last. Its length is 7J in., with a width, however, of 4 in. and height of about 3^ in. The hole, which is more centrally placed, is unusually large, varying from ijin., in the middle, to 2 J in, in diameter. As in the previous instance, the broad cutting edge 1 Fishwick, op. cit. p. 13, with figure. The object is now in the Rochdale Museum. 2 Weld MSS. 221 Fig. 6. — Section of Stone Axe from Harpurhey, Manchester. Scale, I : 2 linear. (Queen's Park Museum, Manchester.)
