Description

Summary: 1 Bronze Age slate whetstone with a hole at one end, found amongst burnt bones beneath an inverted cinerary urn during the leveling of a barrow on the Goy Links, Ann Hill, Warminster, Wiltshire.

Research results

A Bronze Age perforated whetstone, found with the remains of a cremation deposited in an inverted cinerary urn during the levelling of a barrow on a golf course at Ann hill, Warminster. The stone is a fine grained slate, probably from Devon or Cornwall.

Shell (2000) has examined this pendant with scaning electron microscopy and has noted the presence of gold traces on the stone, suggesting that it was used in goldworking.

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.