Bronze Age Gold from Wales
Middle Bronze Age gold strip
This is a plain gold strip with near parallel sides and one surviving shaped end, or terminal. The other end has been torn, but has two perforations. Toward the middle of the strip is a band, indicating a point at which the strip was once folded around a larger object and the terminals also show evidence of bending. It is thought probable that this was once a link attached to a gold cuff-armlet, helping to join the overlapping ends of the armlet. Such sheet gold armlets have been found in the Capel Isaf hoard from Carmarthenshire and date to the Middle Bronze Age.
This is a plain gold strip with near parallel sides, with one surviving terminal. The other end has been torn. The terminal is tapers to a slightly convex-shaped end, with a small perforation (c.0.8mm diameter) 4mm from the end. The torn end has two perforations (c.0.8mm diameter each); one perforation is approximately 2.2mm from the torn end, while the tear has bisected the second perforation. Denting on the underside or interior of the fold-over indicates the perforation was created by a pin pressed from the current exterior side, though small projecting margin rings of excess gold are visible on both margin surfaces. A scrape next to the perforation was probably made in error with the same fine pin at the time the performations were made.
Toward the middle of the strip is a band, indicating a point at which the strip was once folded around a larger object, and the terminals also bear evidence of bending.
It is difficult to identify the function of this object, but it has been suggested it once formed an armlet link, with the perforations serving to secure the strip.
A very close parallel to the Llanmaes strip is a gold strip, folded around a gold cuff-armlet, within the Capel Isaf hoard, Carmarthenshire (Savory 1977, Fig. 1.1). This may have acted to lock the overlapping armlet terminals together by sliding over them. These objects can be dated to the Middle Bronze Age.
Project Title: Gold in Britain’s auriferous regions, 2450-800 BC: towards a coherent Research Framework and Strategy. Status: Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Network Grant funded project (2018-2019)
Collection Area
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Find Information
Site Name: Llanmaes, Llantwit Major
Notes: Settlement assemblage. A gold strip was found in 2008 during an archaeological research excavation of a Bronze Age-Iron Age settlement at Llanmaes. The object was found in Trench J, located to the north-north-east of the central settlement, in yellow-brown coloured clay, directly below a metalled, stone surface. It was closely associated with six fragments of Middle Bronze Age pottery (1500-1150BC). 2009.39H/1 was found on the metalled surface above this find.