Description

Summary: 1 bronze knife dagger with three rivet holes found with a secondary cremation in Bowl Barrow Wilsford G60, excavated by William Cunnington and attributed to this grave by Sir Richard Colt-Hoare.

Research results

A Bronze Age copper alloy knife blade found with a secondary cremation in bowl barrow Wilsford G60, excavated by William Cunnington. Small daggers such as this are relatively hard to date precisely, however, examples with flat blades such as this are probably earlier than those with ribs - assuming they developed along similar lines to their larger counterparts. Other grave goods from the grave included a perforated whetstone, bone plate and a perforated antler hammer or macehead.

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.