Type of shaft-hole axe designed for use in warfare, made of either stone or metal. Stone battle-axes were widely used in prehistoric Europe from the Late Neolithic onwards; they were so ubiquitous in the later Neolithic of northern Europe that the term Battle-axe culture is often used as a synonym for Corded Ware or Single Grave culture. Copper and bronze examples are common in the Copper and Bronze Ages of eastern Europe, while the Vikings also made use of battle-axes, normally made of iron.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied