Before modern archaeology, stone axes fashioned in the Neolithic era or earlier were known as thunderstones. They were believed to be created when lightning struck the ground, and to have magical properties.
The first-century Roman writer Pliny called the stones ceraunia and said they were sought by the Magi, the priests of the Zoroastrian religion. He noted they resembled axe-heads but were of natural origin, being “found only in a place that has been struck by a thunderbolt”.
Many ancient writers believed such stones provided protection against lightning and some Greek homes may still have an astropelékia (“lightning axe”) to protect the household. They were also supposed to ward off witchcraft, nightmares and other evils. In Scandinavia, they were thought to deter trolls.
The belief that stone tools are actually lightning remnants has been recorded all over Europe, as well as parts of Africa and the far east. In Borneo, thunderstones were kept in rice barns to help preserve the grain.
The ancient weather god Perkunos carried a weapon whose name means both “lightning” and “hammer”. The Greek supreme deity, Zeus, was normally depicted with a javelin-like thunderbolt, but occasionally shown with a stone axe. The association between lightning and Neolithic stone axes may also be the origin of the hammer wielded by the Norse thunder god, and more recently Marvel icon, Thor.
