Description

Summary: 3 hemispherical V-perforated (fragmented), 3 bi-conical and 8 eliptical amber beads found with primary cremation in Twin Disc Barrow Wimborne St. Giles G8, excavated by William Cunnington

Research results

11 Bronze Age amber beads of an original 100+ excavated by William Cunnington from the twin disc barrow Wimborne St. Giles G8. Unfortunately, the amber finds from both mounds of the twin barrow were mixed in together and cannot be separated, however the consisitency of the ten surviving beads means that they could have come from the same necklace. The beads were probably originally part of a spacer plate necklace and were buried with primary cremations in both mounds.

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.