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Encyclopaedia of the North East

A: Aberdeen to axe

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A large, printed capital letter A with stone, bronze and iron axe heads, a bull harness and a tin opener.

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Aberdeen, Aiberdeen, ~shire n
A city and county in North East Scotland. 

Aberdonian n 
A native or citizen of Aberdeen la18c [f MedL Aberdonia]

It was only in Aberdeen that I saw kilts and eightsome reels and the sort of tartan tight-fistedness that made me think of the average Aberdonian as a person who would gladly pick a halfpenny out of a dunghill with his teeth. It was a cold, stony-faced city. 

Paul Theroux 1983 'The Kingdom By The Sea'.

There's no land like Aberdeen or folk so find as them that bide by Don. 

Central Aberdeen around 1900: trams, cyclists, a horse and pedestrians on Union Street with Union Terrace Gardens and municipal buildings to the north.

Central Aberdeen in a photograph taken by George Washington Wilson & Co. between 1889 and 1907.

South Breakwater, Aberdeen around 1920. A concrete breakwater with a tower at the end projects from a rocky shore. Two figures stand on the breakwater in the distance. A small steamboat and a sailboat head past the breakwater, and the Aberdeenshire coast is visible on the horizon.

The South Breakwater at Aberdeen harbour, in a photograph taken around 1920 from the Aberdeen Harbour Board collection.

Printed map of Aberdeen and Old Aberdeen in 1796, with the river Don to the North and the Dee to the South, surrounding farmland and terrain features such as hills. The route of a proposed canal from Inverurie is shown passing North of Aberdeen into the harbour.

Part of a map from 1796 showing the proposed route of a canal from Inverurie to Aberdeen.

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Bull harness. A large iron collar with chains.

Bull branks (harness) from Darnabo Farm, Fyvie (20th cent).

ABDUA:15908

Tin opener. A steel tin opener with a moulded bull's head on one end and a tail curving round to form the handle.

Tin opener from Darnabo, Fyve (c1900).

ABDUA:15679

Aberdeen Angus la18c 
Name of a breed of black hornless beef-cattle.

The Tillyfour herd of Polled cattle for many years enjoyed a wide and unrivalled reputation. Its fame travelled far beyond the British Isles, and it may almost be said, that wherever there are polled Aberdeen or Angus cattle, Tillyfour blood is to be found. 

William McCombie MP 1886 'Cattle & Cattle Breeders'.

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axe, aix, ax n 
Chopping tool with edge and handle in the same plane occas used as status symbol or charm.

Axe head. A heavy, black iron axe head with a square loop at the back to insert a handle.

Iron axe from Corgarff, Aberdeenshire (1300-1500AD).

ABDUA:18164

Stone axe heads. Two polished grey stone axe heads, one about four inches long, the other about seven inches long. The smaller one has a curved blade edge and is a round tapering oval shape, the larger has a straight edge and is a rounded triangular shape.

Stone axes.

left: From Insch (4800-2000BC). ABDUA:19840

right: From Logie Buchan (2500-2000BC). ABDUA:14335 

Flat axe heads. Three bronze axe heads, ranging from three to six inches long, the largest one covered in green rust.

Flat bronze axes from Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire (2200-1500BC). Left to right: ABDUA:19631, 19632, 19639.

Socketed axe heads. Three bronze axe heads, about three inches long, hollow inside with wide squarish openings at the base. One axe head is covered with green rust and has a loop near the base.

Socketed bronze axes from Aberdeenshire (1000-600BC). Left to right: ABDUA:19660, 17701, 19663.

Flanged axe heads. Five bronze axe heads with flanges extending up and below from the sides perpendicular to the blade edge.

Flanged bronze axes from Aberdeenshire (1800-1000BC). Left to right: ABDUA:19648, 19655, 19657, 19650, 19652.

A: Aberdeen to axe