Bronze Age Gold from Wales

This is a corrugated strip made up of five narrow strands, which appear to have been soldered together along their lengths. The strands have been neatly cut and slightly flattened at each end to form straight strip ends. At one end there is a short sixth strand soldered along one edge, which tapers to a worn end. It is possible this incomplete strand once ran the length of the strip. The individual strands have separated and distorted along the length of the strip, but remain joined at each terminal. It is possible that this strip was once shaped into a penannular ring, which has since become flattened.

This piece was considered to be of a Post-Medieval date, but possibly represents a Bronze Age ring flattened out. The length of the strip is comparable to the corrugated rings from Burton, Wrexham, and the metallurgical analysis is suggestive of a Middle Bronze Age date.

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)