UN CELT DE BRONZ DESCOPERIT LA PÂCLIŞA (MUN. ALBA IULIA)
A BRONZE SOCKETED AXE DISCOVERED AT PÂCLIŞA (ALBA IULIA MUNICIPALITY)

Summary/Abstract: A worker discovered a bronze socketed axe in a gravel quarry at Pâclişa, on the right bank of the river Mureş (Fig. 2-3),. The axe has a massive body, straight mouth, thickened rim of the socket (oval in section) and mounting lug. The blade is wide. The axe has a decor consisting of two triangles on both sides. The blade is broken, the lug is flattened, and on one side, there is a little groove resulted of the intention to pierce the metal with a sharp object and a small deformation. Dimensions: length – 14,9 cm; width of blade – 5,1 cm; diameter of socket`s mouth – 3,0/3,7 cm; depth of the socket – 9,5 cm; weight – 539 g (Fig. 1, 4). Typological, the axe can be subsumed under the Rusu A2 type of Transylvanian socketed axes and can be dated in Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the First Iron Age (Br. D - Ha. A periods). From a functional point of view, the socketed axe is considered a tool that, most likely, was used for cutting wood, but may also be used by butchers. Using the axe as a weapon is also posible. The presence in a very large number of bronze deposits, considered votive deposits, gives to the socketed axe a cultic significance.

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