Bronze Age Gold from Wales

This is a small, gold penannular ring, which has been crushed nearly flat and is damaged at one end and on one face. This damage is a mixture of recent activity, and a prehistoric action. Originally, the ring would have been near circular (c.3cm in diameter), with a three-dimensional form and a triangular shaped cross-section. This type of ring is known as a ‘lock-ring’. This is one of eight lock-rings currently known from Wales; the only example found as a single find and the only example from west Wales. One small piece is detached and no join can be detected.

The ring was produced from two circular and plain face-plates that joined at the external circumference, with a gold wire fused (probably soldered) to form an outer rim-binding. A central circular opening to the ring – probably once approximately 9.5mm in diameter - was lined by a third sheet. This was tube shaped, though discontinuous, with a gap in the vertical plane for the slot. The terminals would also have had a triangular cross-section, and were seemingly open (i.e. with no covering).

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)