Description

Summary: 11 gold barrel-like beads with two perforations along their sides and lids on each end found with a secondary (?) cremation in bowl barrow Upton Lovell G2e, excavated by William Cunnington

Research results

11 gold cylindrical beads or pendants, of a set of 13 which were excavated in association with a probable secondary cremation underneath the 'Golden barrow' (Upton Lovell G2e) by William Cunnington. The beads are all of rougly the same size and were all formed of a sheet of gold wrapped arounf an internal core with a gold cap closing the open ends. With both perforations on the same side these were not beads in the true sense, and they could have been strung along a cord, all hanging below, but were probably actually stitched onto something,

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.

This object was on loan to the University of Leicester (February 2023) for wear and compositional analyses. Non-destructive techniques using microscopes, X-Ray Fluorescence and a Scanning Electron Microscope. The project will improve our understanding about how the objects were made, used and deposited. This research, funded by the British Academy, was led by Dr Rachel Crellin, and supported by Dr Christina Tsoraki, Dr Oliver Harris and Dr Christopher Standish. 'From Prestige to Practice: Shedding New Light on Early Bronze Age Gold through Microwear and Scanning Electron Microscope Analysis'. Results are expected in 2024.