Summary: Axes
Key dates:
A good quality stone axe was very important to these early farmers. They were used to help clear land, cut wood for building purposes and chop firewood. In Ireland many of these axes were made from a very hard stone called porcellanite. This stone could be highly polished to give it a very sharp cutting edge. Some were mounted in a wooden handle such as the one found at Maguiresbridge in Co Fermanagh.
There were signs of industry near Cushendall and at Brockley on Rathlin Island where axe “factories” were established and from where the finished products were distributed all over Ireland and even further afield. These axes were Ireland’s first exports.
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