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Description: | Fragment of a gold ingot or bar which has been folded over and over again from a larger piece of sheet in order to make it thicker and perhaps to beat out any impurities. There are evident layers in section but these have been heat welded together by forging the gold when hot. The fragment has been hammered to thin out the piece at one end and then either snapped or chiselled off in two areas, perhaps to make it into a more rectangular shape, before it was reworked. There are patches of reddish patina, which have also been seen on a strip of gold (2014 T39) that has already undergone X-ray fluorescence analysis, at the British Museum, which indicated a surface composition of 86-88% gold, 11-13% silver and less than 1% copper which is most consistent with a Bronze Age attribution (report by Susan La Niece).There are also similar hammered bar fragments that have been found in Bronze Age hoards such as the hoard from Cirencester, Gloucestershire (2004 T416) illustrated in the Treasure Annual Report 2004 on pages 232-3, Fig.17.3 & 17.5 and dated on page 26 to c.1300-1100 BC.Although similar examples have been found in Bronze Age hoards it is not possible to assign the bar fragment to particular period or cultural context, as it is an undiagnostic fragment (Gill Varndell pers comm).
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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