A Bronze Age axe mould is among the 17,000 significant finds discovered by Norfolk fieldwalkers and metal detectorists last year and taken to the Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service for identification and recording. The Bronze Age socketed axe mould was found with a hoard of three axes and a hammer at Hevingham and according to Dr Andrew Rogerson, senior landscape archaeologist, is extremely ancient. "Most of the Paleolithic handaxes are found in gravels where they've been washed by glaciers or rivers out from where they were discarded," he said. "This was found in a position where it hadn't moved and was sandwiched between two layers of boulder clay. It's one of the oldest found in the British Isles."
     Dr Rogerson said he and his colleagues were grateful so many people had brought items to them during the course of the year. There is no compulsion to report finds, but those who fieldwalk on a regular basis often work closely with the archaeological service to ensure anything discovered in Norfolk is properly recorded. This helps the team build up a map of finds across the country, details of which are published every year.

Source: EDP 24 (11 April 2003)