An unsuspecting fisherman from Texel has accidentally found a prehistoric ax in his net. It has now been six years since the discovery was made, but since the day before yesterday the recovered object has been valued. “I thought: wow,” says archaeologist Luc Amkreutz, remembering the moment he first saw the ax. “This makes me happy!”
The prehistoric ax dates from the Middle Stone Age and is probably more than eight thousand years old – NH News
The found piece of stone (probably granite) has a round hole in the center and weighs about half a kilo. One part tapers to a sharp edge and was probably used as an axe. The object is believed to be more than eight thousand years old, dating from the Middle Stone Age, a time when hunters and gatherers used the ax for various purposes. “We assume that these types of stones were mounted on stems,” Amkreutz explains. “And by pounding the stems into the ground, one could search for tubers and roots. But with the axe, for example, a small tree could also be cut down.”
Haven’t looked back for a long time
When the Texel fisherman finds the ax in his nets, he sees that it must be something special. Yet the piece of stone remains at home for a long time without being looked after. Until the moment that Amkreutz gave a lecture on Texel last Tuesday about Doggerland, an area in the North Sea that used to be dry. “A number of people also brought things with them,” says Amkreutz. “There was also a lady who had received this stone from the fisherman in question and she then took it with her.”
Coincidence
The fact that the prehistoric ax is no longer at the bottom of the North Sea but at the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden for research is a stroke of luck, according to Amkreutz. “These kinds of pieces are on the bottom of the North Sea because it was actually dry for the past million years, it was mostly land,” Amkreutz explains. “And those fishing boats actually hang above a drowned landscape looking for fish. But other things also end up in the nets and you just have to recognize that at that moment.”
The ax from the Middle Stone Age will remain in Leiden for further research in the coming weeks. It will then return to Texel where it will ultimately be exhibited.
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