Bronze Age Gold from Wales

Copper alloy oval-shaped model shield with a repoussé elongated oval boss (length of boss 32mm, width of boss 8mm) and decorated external surface. The decoration consists of a series of incised motifs, including: two peltate-shaped panels either side of the boss which have been infilled with rocked tracer; roundels situated both above and below the boss, a set of curved lines running towards the outer edges of the shield from the centre of the peltate-shaped panels; and a series of lines running over the centre of the boss. The external surface of the shield is pitted and has also been chemically cleaned since its discovery. The reverse of the model shield, which has not been chemically cleaned, is fitted with a horizontal handle, plano-convex in section and riveted at either end (length of handle 20mm). The shield is incomplete and, as a result of corrosion, only a small part of the original edge survives.

Miniature bronze shield, 50 BCE-80 CE.

SC5.6