Description

Summary: 1 halberd pendant with an amber handle (perforated for suspension) wrapped in four strips of ribbed gold with a miniature bronze blade (broken) rivetted to it with two rivets, found with a primary cremation in Bell Barrow Wilsford G8, excavated by William Cunnington

Research results

A Bronze Age gold bound halberd pandant, found with a primary cremation in bowl barrow Wilsford G8, excavated by William Cunnington in the 19th century. This grave was richly furnished, containing a number of other gold beads and pendants in addition to this one. This pendant is formed of an amber handle with decorative bands of gold and a small, incomplete, copper alloy 'blade' held in place by tiny copper rivets. The base of the pendant has a V-shaped perforation, suggesting it was suspended upside down. One of three known, these unusual pendants are in the form of miniature halberds, and whilst they are almost certainly locally made, by the time that they were being produced halberds had already gone out of use in the British Bronze Age. The banded decoration seen on the handle actually resembles contemporary metal-handled halbards from Germany and Poland!

This object was examined as part of the research published in Ritual in Early Bronze Age Grave Goods; a six-year research project carried out by Professor John Hunter and Dr Anne Woodward and funded by the Leverhulme Trust. Aided by a large number of other specialists the pair undertood an exhuastive study examining over 1000 objects held in 13 museums across the country in order to provide an extensive overview of burial practices in the period and identify regional practices.