The goal of the project was to conduct an experiment that assessed the relative longevity of different types of worked copper (cold hammering, annealing and casting and sanding) by comparing the stress and strain, malleability, and ductility of two axe’s edges. This project investigated the social aspects and the technological relationships between the different techniques of working copper, while reconstructing the chaîne opératoire of prehistoric copper production.

 

The project had two distinct phases. The first was the design and construction of the copper axes, where the copper axes were modelled from Ötzi the Iceman’s axe to produce genuine prehistoric results. The original copper ingots were cast in identical moulds as an efficient method of reproducing a consistent shape and size. One copper ingot was used as a controlled variable and was expected to deform with the fewest number of strikes against the wood. The processes of cold-working and annealing were expected to make the axe heads stronger and therefore improve the longevity of the blade. The second phase of the experiment compared the effects of striking the individual axe heads against an oak branch a controlled number of times (n=70) to evaluate their relative strength.

 

After 70 strikes with each axe, the annealed copper showed minor signs of blunting while the sanded copper displayed definite signs of blunting and strain. Annealing was vital in the process to prevent the blade from splitting after numerous strikes on the oak branch. The cast and sanded ingot, on the other hand, resulted in a very malleable blade and had visible indications of blunting after the 20 strikes. The project provided an opportunity to combine my design and archaeology expertise to investigate the longevity of prehistoric copper axe heads.