Mattock

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Mattock

A mattock is a hand tool

Tool

A broad definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other....
similar to a pickaxe

Pickaxe

A pickaxe is a hand tool with a hard head attached perpendicular to the handle.Some people make the distinction that a pickaxe has a head with a pointed end and a flat end, and a pick has both ends pointed, or only one end; but most people use the words to mean the same thing....
. It is distinguished by the head, which makes it particularly suitable for digging or breaking up moderately hard ground. A mattock has a broad chisel-like blade perpendicular to the handle. This broad-bladed end is effectively an adze

Adze

An adze or adz is a tool used for smoothing rough-cut wood in hand woodworking. Generally, the user stands astride a board or log and swings the adze downwards towards their feet, chipping off pieces of wood, moving backwards as they go and leaving a relatively smooth surface behind....
that could be used as a hoe

Hoe (tool)

A Hoe is an agricultural tool used to*agitate the surface of the soil around plants, to remove weeds*pile soil around the base of plants ;*create narrow furrows and shallow trenches for planting seeds and bulbs;...
as well. The reverse may have a pointed end, in which case the tool is called a pick mattock, or instead have an axe

Axe

The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for Millennium to shape, split and cut wood, harvest Lumber, as a weapon and a ceremony or Heraldry symbol....
-like splitting end, then it is a cutter mattock.

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Encyclopedia

A mattock is a hand tool

Tool

A broad definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other....
similar to a pickaxe

Pickaxe

Adze

Hoe (tool)

Axe

Pulaski (tool)

The pulaski is a special hand tool used in wildfire. The tool combines an axe and a mattock in one head, similar to that of the Mattock, with a rigid handle of wood, plastic, or fiberglass....
. In some regions of the southern USA, the mattock is called a "grub hoe" or "grub axe".

Mattock heads range from 1.5 to 3.5 kg (3 to 7 pounds) in weight, and are normally mounted on a 90 to 120 cm (3 to 4 foot) shaft. The shaft is often heavier than the head, sometimes possessing twice the mass and density of a baseball bat.

Mattocks are still frequently used for path work in hill areas such as the Scottish Highlands

Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands include the rugged and mountainous regions of Scotland north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east....
, and are used extensively in archaeological excavation

Excavation

The term archaeological excavation has a double meaning.# Excavation is the best known and most commonly used within the science of archaeology....
.

During the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
of Europe, the mattock served as an improvised pole weapon

Pole weapon

A pole weapon or polearm is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is placed on the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range....
for the poorer classes.