BRONZE AGE METAL WORKING DEBRIS

-1500

TREASURE CASE 2011 T801: Five ingot fragments of copper alloy metal working waste. All five pieces have traces of a bright green patina although there has been some notable loss of this patination revealing purplish-brown patches. Most sides of the fragments are uneven and irregular with notable pitting and striations on most surfaces.Ingot Fragment 1: 967.2g, 37.2mm thick (tapering to 22.9mm), 89.3mm long and 66.2mm wide. In plan the fragment is rounded on two sides, with the other two sides being more irregular and abruptly angled in form. The base of the fragment is roughly flat with the upper part being more convex in form. This fragment perhaps represents a quarter of a plano-convex bun ingot.Ingot Fragment 2: 589.6g, 34.5mm thick (tapering to 23.4mm), 69.3mm long and 55.3mm wide. In plan the fragment is sub-rectangular in shape. One of the sides is rounded (convex) in form and probably represents an original edge whilst the remaining three sides are rougher and more irregular in form. The base of the fragment is roughly flat in form with the top being notably irregular and uneven. In section the fragment is wedge-shaped. It is not clear whether this fragment represents part of a bun-shaped ingot.Ingot Fragment 3: 436.7g, 27.5mm thick (tapering to 15.8mm), 73.5mm long and 68.7mm wide. In plan the fragment is sub-triangular in shape. One of the sides is rounded and probably represents an original edge whilst the remaining two sides are rougher and more irregular in form. The base of the fragment is roughly flat in form with the top being sloped in form - The fragment overall is wedge-shaped in section. This fragment may represent part of a bun-shaped ingot.Ingot Fragment 4: 170.3g, 21.5mm thick (tapering to 14.7mm), 63.3mm long and 32.6mm wide. In plan the fragment is an irregular elongated sub-oval shape. All sides of the fragments are rough and irregular in form with the base and top of the fragment being notably flatter in form. The fragment overall is slightly wedge-shaped in section. This fragment may represent part of a larger ingot.Ingot Fragment 5: 79.4g, 27.8mm thick, 28.7mm long and 22.6mm wide. In plan the fragment is an irregular sub-oval shape. All sides of the fragments are rough and irregular in form with the base of the fragment being notably flatter in form. This fragment may represent part of a larger ingot.The total weight of the 5 ingot fragments is 2243.20g (approx 2.24kg). The ingot fragments do not appear to join though several may, on the basis of their form, thickness and patina, have formed part of the same object.This small hoard has been dated to mid to late Bronze Age (c.1500-700 BC).Discussion: The breaking of ingots and their placing in hoards in the landscape is especially common during the Bronze Age Ewart Park phase (1000-800 BC). Traditional interpretations see these as metalworkers reserves stored for later use. However, the failure to recover so many stored metal objects implies that recovery may not always have been the aim. Many hoards containing broken ingots also contain complete or incomplete Bronze Age artefacts (eg. see previous Treasure cases 2009 T528 & 2007 T555). Hoards comprised solely of waste items, however, are also known (eg. see previous Treasure cases 2008 T307 and 2009 T390). Previous Treasure case 2008 T64 represents a rare example of a hoard of broken ingot parts placed in a ceramic container. The majority are found dispersed as in this case.As the hoard consists of two or more pieces of base metal believed to be of prehistoric date the hoard can be considered as potential Treasure under the terms of the 2002 Amendment to the 1996 Treasure Act.