Tin equals treasure for Bronze Age finds - The Box, Plymouth
By: Jo Clarke
Added: 22 May 2018
Two Bronze Age items from the city’s archaeology collections have been officially declared as treasure at the Plymouth Coroner’s court.
The bead and studded armband or bracelet, which are both around 4,000 years old, are two of a group of finds discovered within a stone burial chamber or cist at Whitehorse Hill, a remote spot on northern Dartmoor.
They were first displayed to the public in an exhibition at the City Museum and Art Gallery in 2014 having been kindly gifted to Plymouth’s permanent collections by the Duchy of Cornwall.
These artefacts are the earliest examples of tin objects to ever be found on Dartmoor. When new, the bead would have had high sheen and was probably part of a Bronze Age necklace.
The armband or bracelet features 32 small tin studs placed at regular intervals along a delicate band of braided cow hair. The studs would have originally been bright silver in appearance. Evidence of the use of tin for such a decorative object is extremely rare.
Both items received their official Treasure classification due to their age and their metal content.
They, and the rest of the contents of the Whitehorse Hill cist, suggested that the person who’d been buried there was a young female of high status.
As well as evidence of a cremation archaeologists discovered a bear pelt, a beautifully woven basket, the earliest examples of turned wood in Britain, worked leather and textiles and more than 200 beads.
Councillor Peter Smith, Deputy Leader said: “When the Whitehorse Hill cist was found on Dartmoor the objects it contained gave academics and scientists one of the best glimpses into life in early Bronze Age Southern England they’d ever had.”
“The treasure classification for these two items really underlines the importance of the tin finds. Along with the other Whitehorse Hill objects they’ve given us a real insight into ancient materials, technology and trade. 7 years after being discovered we are still learning new things about them, which is amazing.”
The finds from Whitehorse Hill will be displayed in the ‘Port of Plymouth’ gallery in The Box when it opens in 2020.
Throughout 2018 and the early part of 2019 you can see a flint tool discovered in the cist in the ‘Finding Prehistory’ exhibition at Dartmoor National Park’s Visitor Centre in Princetown.
You can find out more about Plymouth’s archaeology collections at www.plymhearts.org/archaeology
Latest news
-
May Lecture: A Century of Film Costume Design
Topsham Museum
-
New Volunteers Welcome
Bampton Heritage and Visitor Centre
-
Bank Holiday Monday 8th May: Big Help Out
Topsham Museum
-
BOVEY TRACEY HERITAGE CENTRE REOPENS
Bovey Tracey Heritage Centre
-
EXPLORING THE TRIASSIC on 9 MAY: WALK WITH FAIRLYNCH MUSEUM'S GEOLOGIST NICKY HEWITT
Fairlynch Museum Budleigh Salterton
-
Topsham Secret Gardens June 11th 2023 Tickets now on Sale!
Topsham Museum
-
Coffee Time Talk “The Fine Art of Photography” by Lucilla Phelps Wednesday 5 April 2023
Fairlynch Museum Budleigh Salterton
-
Topsham Museum Opens for the 2023 Season
Topsham Museum
-
Children's Easter Trail
Topsham Museum
-
Pelé’s shirt on display at The Box 50 years after he played in Plymouth
The Box, Plymouth
-
Thanks 'Men In Sheds!'
Dawlish Museum
-
Winter Lecture: Breton Craftsmen in Early Tudor Devon
Topsham Museum
-
A Special Mother's Day Tea
Topsham Museum
-
The Museum Under Wraps
Topsham Museum
-
Curator (Maternity Cover) vacancy
Newton Abbot Town and GWR Museum