Curator’s Choice – The Wroot Axe

This Wroot Axe was made from Jadeite during the Neolthic period. Axes were important tools during the Neolithic, used for tasks like chopping down trees to create fields and building houses. However, not all axes were used as tools. Axes made from some materials including Jadeite, seem to have had a special significance as status symbols.

About 2000 Jadeite axes have been found across northern Europe, with about 100 in England. Recent research has found that all were made from Alpine Jadeite, sourced from high up in the North Italian Alps. In fact, we now know that the Wroot Axe came from a boulder in the Porco Valley, below Mount Viso and 1500 km from Wroot. The axe was found at some point in the early 1900s in Wroot, and later acquired by Ethel Rudkin, a local archaeologist and historian.

In this video, Heritage Manager Rose Nicholson, takes a closer look at the history of the Wroot Axe.

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Curator’s Choice – A Venetian Soldino in Lincolnshire

A closer look at Venetian soldino in the Museums collection.

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Curator’s Choice – Atkinson’s Illustrations

A closer look at the drawings of Alfred Atkinson for the Brigg Court of Sewers.

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Curator’s Choice – Bill’s Letters to Home

A closer look at a series of letters sent by William ‘Bill’ Smith to his fiancé Evelyn Goodacre.

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Curator’s Choice – Boy’s Dresses

A closer look at the clothes worn by Rowland Winn, 1st Baron St Oswald as a small boy.

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Curator’s Choice – Fowler’s Mosaics

A closer look at William Fowler of Winterton’s engravings of mosaics.

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Curator’s Choice – Of Mourning and Bonnets

A closer look at a selection of Victorian mourning bonnets.

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Curator’s Choice – Reverend Parkinson’s Waistcoat

A closer look at the Reverend Parkinson’s waistcoat.

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Curator’s Choice – Riley’s Crisp Factory

A closer look at Scunthorpe’s Riley’s Crisp Factory.

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Curator’s Choice – The Flintlock Flint

A closer look at gunflints.

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Curator’s Choice – The Thresher

A closer look at the threshing machine.

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Curator’s Choice – The Unassuming Plough Pebble

A closer look at Medieval plough pebbles.

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Curator’s Choice – Magnificent Moths

A closer look at the Museum’s moth collection.

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Curator’s Choice – Stukeley’s Itinerarium Curiosum

A closer look at William Stukeley’s book, the Itinerarium Curiosum.

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