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Description: | The finds of the bronze age, both the beaker period and the Wessex culture, are a particular strength of this collection. They are extensive and well provenanced, and include many unique prestige items such as the gold artefacts from Bush Barrow; amber, faience, jet, shale and glass jewellery; and copper alloy tools and weapons. There is material from both Stonehenge and Avebury, both designated World Heritage Sites.
A significant proportion of this material was discovered during barrow excavations by that important antiquarian partnership of Sir Richard Colt Hoare (1758-1838) and William Cunnington (1754-1810).
The iron age collection include the finds from All Cannings (a type site), Potterne, Bury Wood Camp, Casterley Camp, Lidbury and others. There are imporant individual objects, too, notably the iron age bucket from Marlborough, one of the most important pieces of Celtic metalwork discovered in Britain.
This is one of the finest archaeology collections in a provincial museum. The museum houses the finds from 515 excavations carried out in the county over the last 200 years, many of excavations of the many bronze age barrows which are such a feature of the Wiltshire landscape.
All periods and all types of site, cemeteries and barrows, settlements, industrial, defensive and ceremonial sites are well represented by collections of finds of national importance.
There are palaeolithic hand axes, particularly from the prolific site of Knowle Farm; important neolithic material from sites including Avebury, the Sanctuary, West Kennet long barrow, Woodhenge and Marden. Bronze age and iron age collections, both of which are strengths.
The Roman collection is large and includes finds from Littlecote Roman villa and Orpheum, as well as many interesting individual finds. The Saxon collection is significant and contains finds from a series of important cemetery sites, most notably that at Pewsey. Later medieval material includes the finds from the royal palace at Ludgershall and the kiln site at Nash Hill, Lacock. | Subjects: | Archaeology (cemeteries) Archaeology Archaeology (settlement) | Source: | Cornucopia - Discovering UK Collections | Address: | 41 Long Street
Devizes,
SN10 1NS | FAX: | 01380 722 150 | Telephone: | 01380 727 369 | Identifier: | oai:www.cornucopia.org.uk:3531 | Go to resource |
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