Petroarchaeological investigation of three nephrite axes from Moravia and Czech Silesia

In 1989, 2002 and 2021, three axes were found in Moravia and Czech Silesia, which share a similar appearance and typology. Two of these axes (Bolatice near Opava, Hlinsko near Lipník nad Bečvou) can be dated to the Early Eneolithic (Funnel Beaker Culture), while the third (Archlebov near Ždánice) was a surface find in an area with pottery fragments corresponding to the Moravian Painted Ware Culture. The raw material used in the axes is almost macroscopically identical and has a striking mottled colour. Mineralogical methods (determination of magnetic susceptibility and density, X-ray diffraction record) were used for classification. The methods proved the raw material was nephrite with a significant presence of clinopyroxene. Our comparison with nephrite occurrences in Central Europe has shown the nephrite source at Jordanów Śląski in Polish Silesia to be the most probable source