Hand-axe from Remich
Bibliographic data
Description
- Title:
- Hand-axe from Remich
- Inventory Number:
- 1968-58
- Collection:
- Prehistory
- Domain:
- Lithic industry
- Designation:
- Hand-axe
- Period | Style | Movement:
- Lower Paleolithic
- Material | Technique:
- Quartzite sandstone
- Measurements:
- 12,4 x 8,1 x 3,1 cm
- Geographical Reference:
- Site of discovery: Luxembourg | Buschland (Remich)
- Place in Museum:
- MNHA | Main building | Floor -5
Contents
- Description:
-
The oldest archaeological find in Luxembourg is a Lower Palaeolithic hand-axe recovered by prospector François Schons near the surface of an alluvial terrace of the Moselle at Buschland, near Remich.
A hand-axe is a two-faced tool with approximate axial symmetry and occasional symmetrical front and back surfaces; its two faces are separated by a long cutting edge. It is made by progressively chipping off flakes from its two faces.
This almond-shaped (amygdaloidal) tool is fashioned from larger flakes of imported carmine-reddish Devonian, so-called “Taunus” quartzite sandstone – a siliceous stone found in primary rocky outcrops in the south-east of the Grand Duchy, near Sierck-les-Bains (F). Its distal end displays an old break. It illustrates the Levallois technique, which is characteristic for the Mindel-Riss interglacial period: making implements such as choppers, chopping tools and hand-axes by gradually removing flakes from a stone core or block, thus representing the Acheulean period in our region.
More Information
- Bibliography:
- Polfer, M. [Dir.] (2017). MNHA 100 Objets. Luxembourg : Musée national d'histoire et d'art.| p. 24-25
Heuertz, M. (1977). Les artefacts en quartzite de Remich (Collection François Schons). Hémecht, 29(2).| p. 241-252
Lebrun-Ricalens, F. (1994). Le Paléolithique ancien du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, Essai de synthèse. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Luxembourgeoise, 16.| p. 17-31
Ziesaire, P. (1985). Die altsteinzeitliche Fundstelle von Remich-Buschland – Zur Problematik und Zeitstellung der mittelpaläolithischen Quarzitartefakte Luxemburgs. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Luxembourgeoise, 7.| p. 3-44
metadataTab3
- Copyright:
-
Work: Public Domain
Image(s): CC0
Metadata: CC0
- Photographer:
- Tom Lucas