Description

Summary: 1 bronze dagger (class 2) with five rivets, four grooves either side of a central ridge and the remains of a wooden handle and sheath adhereing to the blade, found with a primary cremation in a wooden box in Bowl Barrow Wilsford G56, excavated by William Cunnington

Research results

A Bronze Age copper alloy dagger excavated by William Cunnington from bowl barrow Wilsford G56. The dagger was found with the cremated remains of the primary burial, alongside another dagger and other grave goods. This dagger, which is of a form which dominated in the period 1750-1500 BC (the end of the Early Bronze Age), still has significant traces of its wooden sheath..

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.