This bronze axe head was, in the Near East in the 2nd millennium B.C., an essential part of a warrior’s weaponry. Mounted on a handle, most likely made of wood, this axe head would have been able to pierce the metal helmets and body armor of the enemy. This axe is an example of the ‘duck-bill’ type, so-called because of its likeness to a duckbill, with its elongated blade with a central ridge and two large oval holes.

The ‘duck-bill’ type axe was an innovation of the Middle Bronze Age in the Levant. It is a descendant of the smaller, squatter ‘eye’ type axes which lack the piercing power of the later ‘duck-bill’ type. The ‘duck-bill’ axe, in turn, gave way to the longer, narrower shaft axe in the 18th century B.C.

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