Guides › Stone

Identifying stone mace heads

Drilled and polished prestige stones of prehistory.

A prehistoric mace head is a symmetrical stone — ovoid, pestle-shaped, or elegantly waisted 'cushion' forms — with a neat cylindrical perforation for a haft. The drilling is the marvel: hourglass profiles from two-sided drilling, or straight bores made with tube drills and sand.

Distinguish from natural pierced stones (irregular holes, no symmetry), loom weights (rougher, unpolished), and later machine-drilled objects (perfectly parallel bores with drill chatter). Many mace heads are made of visually striking rock, chosen to be seen.

Measure the perforation at both ends and mid-point if possible — the profile records the drilling method. Note stone type, polish, and any battering (some were used, not just displayed). These are significant finds; record findspot precisely and consider expert recording.

From the guide library inside Collectors Catalogues, a free app for cataloguing antiques and finds with honest, museum-grade records.

More on stone

Identifying worked stone — Flint, marble, and hardstone.

Identifying struck flint — The signatures of knapping.

Identifying obsidian — Volcanic glass tools.

Identifying hand axes — The Palaeolithic multi-tool — pear-shaped, worked on both faces.

Identifying scrapers and blades — The everyday flint toolkit — and how retouch separates tool from waste.

Identifying microliths — Tiny geometric flints that armed Mesolithic arrows.

Home · Get the app · Guides · Museums · Privacy · Terms