ABSTRACT
At an early point in the Neolithic, a highly polished axe was placed by the side of what is now called the Sweet Track in Somerset, a wooden pathway built between areas of drier land during the Earlier Neolithic. Close by lay a small offering contained in a simple pottery bowl and elsewhere were scattered other offerings and chance losses. This beautiful axe commands our attention but its importance extends beyond the character of its depositional context. What is also remarkable is the material from which it is made, for this distinctive speckled green jadeite has its source on the Continent (fig. 26).
