Votive deposits and hoarding practices are of significance to archaeological research. They can provide insights to the economic and functional aspects but also to less mundane, ritual and symbolic behaviors of past societies. Prehistoric and historic examples are documented in various European regions (e.g., [1, 2]) but Neolithic hoards are generally not among the most frequently found and studied. Attempts to characterize these materials often focus on more traditional archaeology-related discourses, such as raw-material and typo-technological analysis, deposition practices and context-based interpretations. Alternative complementary analytical approaches remain less common in non-metallic hoards despite their informative potential. This scenario is quickly changing due to developments and application of functional studies and the broad field of archaeometry. Combining these approaches with contextual data offers a promising avenue for further research and interpretation.
Tomaso and colleagues [3] present an example of a Middle Neolithic radiocarbon-dated pit from the Beringen Brouweshuis site (Belgium) that was subject to archaeological excavations as part of a developer-funded programme [4]. A sample of flint polished axes, endscrapers and other smaller tool fragments recovered in the mentioned negative feature were selected for an initial residue and use-wear analysis. The materials were subject to a rapid burial and, although unclear if intentional and controlled or incidental, the majority of artifacts were damaged due to exposure to fire. On the one hand, macroscopic and microscopic traces of use-wear and hafting are scarce on the axes - of interest is the identification of an axe used as strike-a-light and the presence of iron-oxide that could relate to pedogenesis or ochre depositions. On the other hand, the scrapers are better-preserved, less impacted by heat, and show evidence of hide and plant processing, hafting and resharpening.
The case-study is discussed within the scope of a biographical approach [5] to the materials under analysis. Context, methods and interpretation limitations are clearly acknowledged by the authors. In sum, this paper presents interesting results on the first excavated Michelsberg culture axe hoard in Belgium. It contributes to the corpus of information on the relevance of fire (and possibly ochre) specifically in these deposits and more broadly to other past populations ritual and symbolic behaviors (e.g., [6, 7]). At the same time, it is an interesting addition to supra-regional discussions on how prehistoric daily objects can gain new meanings – a resignification – by being included on hoarding practices. The fact that other steps could have been part of this process, namely fire and eventually ochre, showcases the complexity and entanglements that these artifacts and deposits might have had during their lifecycle. 
 
References
[1] Naylor, J, Bland, R (2015) Hoarding and the Deposition of Metalwork from the Bronze Age to the 20th Century: A British Perspective. BAR British Series 615. Oxford: BAR Publishing.
[2] Bradley, R (2017) A Geography of Offerings. Deposits of Valuables in the Landscapes of Ancient Europe. Oxbow Insights in Archaeology. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
[3] Tomasso, J, Cnuts, D, Geerts, F, Vanmontfort, B, Roots, V (2025) From polishing to burning: deciphering a Middle Neolithic hoard from Beringen Brouwershuis (Belgium) through functional analysis. OSF preprints, ver. 2 peer-reviewed and recommended by PCI Archaeology https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/4yqch_v2
[4] Geerts, F, Claesen, J, Van Genechten, B, Bouckaert K (2021) De inhoud van een gereedschapskist? Een midden-neolithische depotvondst te Koersel, (Beringen, prov. Limburg, BE). Notae Praehistoricae 41: 147-158. 
[5] van Gijn, A (2010) Flint in focus: Lithic biographies in the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Leiden: Sidestone Press.
[6] Larsson, L (2000) The passage of axes: fire transformation of flint objects in the Neolithic of southern Sweden. Antiquity 74(285): 602-610. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00059962
[7] Larsson, L (2011) Water and fire as transformation elements in ritual deposits of the Scandinavian Neolithic. Documenta Praehistorica 38: 69-82. https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.38.6