I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford researching the movement and distribution of polished Neolithic stone axes originating from sources in Cumbria and North Wales. Langdale (Group VI) and Graiglwyd (Group VII) are the most numerous and widely-distributed Neolithic stone axe types found in the British Isles. Transported far from their origins, concentrations have been found in Wales, eastern England, the midlands, the south-east, along the Thames valley, Scotland and Ireland. Whilst most have been recovered as stray finds, axes have also been found within earthwork monuments, in burials, in watery locations and beneath standing stones. Many researchers have investigated the widespread distribution of axes, with exchange generally favoured as the means by which the artefacts moved. A range of economic, social and political models for exchange have been discussed by archaeologists, with multiple values ascribed to the axes - as tools, tokens of individual identity, representations of community cohesion, prestige objects, symbols of power, ceremonial and ritualistic artefacts; the functional and symbolic are frequently blurred.

However, despite the extensive research, it remains unclear why great numbers of these axes were moved over such long distances. What was it about these objects that gave them value far from where they were made and in places with plentiful alternative raw material for axes? By focusing on the beginnings and ends of the axes' biographies, this research will consider whether characteristics of the source landcapes could have influenced how the axes were received and treated by Neolithic people.