Twas The Night Before Christmas...

As a Christmas Eve treat we have a particular favourite of mine



Image taken from the British Museum

it is of course the Ringlemere Cup, discovered in Ringlemere, Sandwich, Kent.  This Bronze Age cup dates to around 1700-1500BC and is made from sheet metal.  Before damage it would have formed an S shaped vessel, with a rounded bottom; making use rather difficult.  It has a corrugated top and a single handle; the second of its' type in Britain, but one of only 5 known in Europe.  On discovery it was identified through the Portable Antiquities Scheme and has since been declared as Treasure, through the Treasures act; with the finder and land owner splitting the money paid by The British Museum for its' acquisition.

Since discovery a full excavation has taken place around the findspot and a barrow was located by Canterbury Archaeological Trust.  On my last visit Dover Museum had a beautiful display, in the gallery adjacent to the Dover Boat, in relation to the cup.  There is now a replica of the cup in position as the original is in the Prehistory Galleries of The British Museum, but, it is still well worth a look if you are in or around the area.  The cup has been on many journeys since its' discovery in 2001, it made a brief tour of Britain and even made a stop off in Wales! It also found its way in 2006/2007 back home to Kent, where I feel it belongs.

It is often suggested that the cup was placed in the barrow as part of a burial, subsequently the modern plough has taken its' toll and the cup is clearly damaged.  During the excavation CAT found no trace of a burial and as such new theories have emerged; the most popular alluding to a votive deposition.  Hoards and Barrows are well known within Kent, particularly to the East of the county, with my knowledge (unsurprisingly) being related to the lovely Thanet (often seen in the Bronze Age as the Isle of the Dead!).  It therefore seems a plausible notion.  The excavation revealed several Iron Age and Saxon burials in and around the original barrow, thus showing that the area remained a significant one.

Due to the damage visualising the cup in all its' glory can be tricky so I shall leave you with this...

A British Museum Reconstruction

That brings us to the end of our Advent Calender for 2012, I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

I'm going to take the opportunity to thank you all for reading and I hope each and every one of you have a very Merry Christmas!

An Iron Age Weekend

Hello everyone, I was away for the weekend and had posts all set-up ready to go live by themselves, but technology failed me....so here they are!

December 8th

War, Peace or Other

Today we have an artefact that almost always immediately shouts of war....

Image taken from Shropshire Council

 

It's the Jackfield Sword, found in the River Severn, near Telford in the 1970's.  The sword dates to the Early Iron Age and is a relatively rare find, made of bronze.  The sword is leaf shaped and in beautiful condition considering it's age.  The hilt is missing, but the fittings are in place, suggesting that it was made of organic material.  It is likely that the wood or bone would have been carved in order to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the sword.  During the Early Iron Age there is little evidence for warfare and the deposition of this sword in a river furthers such notions.  It is one of a number of bronze and iron artefacts that have been found in watery deposits and as such it is believed that they have a ritual significance, potentially relating to a lost cosmology.  It is often said that ritual is used by archaeologists as a means to avoid artefacts and sites that do not fit into our plans, however, there surely had to be a level of belief and tradition.  It features in cultures all over the world, so why not in prehistory?

 

 

December 9th

 

Today is the turn of something a little bit different....

 







Image taken from Portable Antiquities Scheme

 

 

It is the beautiful Tanworth Comb, discovered in Warwickshire, 2006.  Finds like this traditionally would be lost to the record, until the Portable Antiquities Scheme came to being.  This comb is a metal detecting find and its' finder did the right thing in taking it for study and identification.  It is dated to the very end of the Iron Age or very early Roman Period.  The comb is made of copper alloy, with both the front and back decorated with a detailed pattern.  Through study it has been determined that the decoration was cast rather than added after the creation process.  The teeth of the comb are fairly wide apart which suggests that it was not meant for human hair, but, instead it may be for the grooming of animals such as horses.  This is another rare find and serves as a perfect example of what can happen when the world of archaeology and the metal detectoring enthusiasts come together.  It also featured on Britain's Secret Treasures, Summer 2012.