Description

Summary: 1 shale belt ring with a single groove around edge and a perforation through side (+ another attempted hole), found with a primary inhumation in bowl barrow Winterbourne Stoke G54, excavated by William Cunnington.

Research results

A Bronze age shale pulley or belt ring, found with a primary inhumation in bowl barrow Winterbourne Stoke G54 when it was excavated by William Cunnington in the 19th century. Similar belt rings are commonly found with Beaker period graves and spread from the continent, elaborate shale examples such as this appear to be an indigenous development of the wessex region and were prized possesions. This example was extremely worn when buried and the V-shaped perforation on its edge worn straight through, leading to a replacement perforation to be drilled straight through its face and the circumferencial groove being reworked.

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.