Minister steps in to help save a prehistoric British battle-axe head from leaving the UK

Government temporarily blocks rare prehistoric battle-axe head from leaving the UK

UK museums and institutions given the chance to save the 4,000-year-old Scarthingwell battle-axe head for the nation
Museums and Galleries have until 22 December to save this prehistoric treasure for the nation

The UK Government has placed a temporary export bar on the Scarthingwell battle-axe head, a rare survivor from prehistoric Britain, in the hope that a UK museum, gallery or institution can acquire it and secure it for public display.

The Scarthingwell battle-axe head is a rare and exceptionally well preserved example of prehistoric craftsmanship. Dating to the Bronze Age, it represents more than 6,000 years of polished stone working in Britain, beginning with the first axes associated with early farming communities.

The temporary export ban gives museums and galleries time to raise the funds needed to acquire the battle-axe head, with the aim of keeping this important object in the UK and on public display.

The battle-axe provides valuable insight into the role these objects played in expressing status, identity and changing ways of life in Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain. It also has significant research potential, offering future generations an opportunity to learn more about this period of our shared national history.

Heritage Minister, Baroness Twycross said:

The Scarthingwell battle-axe head is an important part of the UK’s ancient story. Its outstanding craftsmanship and exceptional condition make it an object of national significance. Securing this piece of our archaeological heritage for the UK would ensure it can be protected, studied and shared with future generations.

Tim Pestell, RCEWA committee Member:

In a profound period of change, the Early Bronze Age witnessed a society previously restricted to flint tool technology adopting metalwork. Despite this, battle axes became some of the most powerful symbolic objects, labelled by one scholar as ‘blunt instruments of power’. Made of stone rather than metal, they conveyed important social, sacred and political messages.

This example, found in 1974 near Tadcaster in North Yorkshire, is exceptional for its preservation and highly developed aesthetic qualities. It uses a visually pleasing speckled diorite, while its finely polished surface and deeply waisted shape would have taken hundreds of hours to make, a crafting reflecting the importance it was once imbued with. Having been in this country for the last four thousand years, I sincerely hope that the export block placed on this wonderful battle axe will enable a museum to acquire and retain it on these shores for public benefit.

The Committee made its recommendation on the basis that the battle-axe met the first, second and third Waverley criteria for its outstanding connection with our history and national life, its outstanding aesthetic importance and its outstanding significance to the study of artefacts of this kind, regional context, production techniques and use.

The decision on the export licence application for the battle-axe will be deferred for an initial period ending on 22 December 2026 inclusive in which we welcome expressions of interest from an appropriate purchaser to try and acquire the object. At the end of the first deferral period owners will have a consideration period of 15 Business Days to consider any offer(s) to purchase the battle-axe at the recommended price of £15,000. The second deferral period will commence following the signing of an Option Agreement and will last for three months.

Notes to editors

Organisations or individuals interested in purchasing the battle-axe should contact the RCEWA on 02072680534 or rcewa@artscouncil.org.uk.
Details of the axe head are as follows: This is a ground, perforated and polished stone battle-axe with an elegant waisted profile and tear-drop plan, made of weather-altered diorite (an igneous rock type with an aesthetically pleasing speckled appearance). The perforation for the haft is slightly offset. Together with its other morphological features, this indicates that it belongs to Needham’s Class 2, dating to the earliest period of battle-axe production in Britain, c.2050, 1850 BC (Needham forthcoming). Its condition is exceptionally good, and it shows little evidence of heavy plough scarring or rolling, suggesting that it had lain relatively undisturbed until the time of discovery. It has the following approx. measurements: Length: 120mm; Height (max.): 60mm; Height (min.): 40mm; Width: 50mm; Weight: 360g
Provenance: found in the winter of 1974 on the surface during agricultural work at Scarthingwell, near Tadcaster in North Yorkshire (NGR SE 49226 37367). It was reported to the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) in 2012 (PAS unique ID: CORN-70CDC7)
The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by Arts Council England (ACE), which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria.