Object: Assemblage (Bronze Age)
Period: Bronze Age to  (-2400 to -2200)
Material: Gold Ceramic
Found: Horton, Windsor and Maidenhead, Windsor and Maidenhead (South East)
Discovery method: Controlled archaeological investigation
Description: Description: Beaker/Early Bronze Age gold beads



Found during controlled archaeological excavations by Wessex Archaeology, on 12th October 2011 while excavating the remains of a prehistoric 'Beaker' burial.



Five sheet gold beads and other artefacts (Beaker vessel, amber and lignite beads, and seven worked flints) were recorded along with the poorly preserved remains of a >35 year old adult.



Dimensions: Gold beads (incorporating provisional comments by Dr Stuart Needham) ON1527, ON1532-4 and ON1551.



Five gold beads (between 5 mm and 9 mm in length). Sheet pieces of gold that have been rolled to form tubular beads. At least four of the beads have small single/paired perforations (0.5 mm in diameter). All five beads contain a core of what is considered to be soil. This material has been left in place pending further scientific analysis and, therefore, at this stage no accurate weights for the gold can be given. Each bead has been cleaned to aid identification.



Non-destructive X-ray fluorescence analysis of the surface of the beads indicated a very high precious metal content of gold (Dr Stuart Black, Director of Laboratories (SAGES) Reading University)



Other finds



Ceramic Beaker (ON1526) The vessel appears to be complete, although it was found in a crushed state. Decorated with zonal patterns of impressed comb, it is of low carinated form and equates to Clarke's Northern British/Middle Rhine style (N/MR).



Amber beads (including comment from Dr Alison Sheridan) ON1525, ON1529-31, and ON1557-8.



Four large amber beads ranging in size from 15 mm to 25 mm were recovered from near the head of the burial. A fifth large bead and fragments of other smaller beads were recovered during analysis of the soil blocks. The larger beads are all circular in shape with flattened sides and lateral perforations. They are of an unusual type and the provisional suggestion is that they could derive from eastern England (Dr Alison Sheridan pers comm).



Shale/jet beads ON1552-6



A total of 56 shale/jet beads (24 complete), were recovered from the careful examination and processing of the soil samples and blocks. Unfortunately many of these beads were in a very fragile condition and have not survived. They were recorded and photographed.



Worked Flint (comment from Philippa Bradley)



Seven pieces of worked flint came from the grave fill. The flint comprises three flakes, a fragmentary flake, two blade-like flakes, and a retouched blade-like flake. Dating this small group is hampered by the lack of diagnostic pieces. However, a broad Neolithic to Early Bronze Age date is likely. Given the nature of the material and the lack of retouched forms, it is possible that these are redeposited finds and not intentional grave goods.
Notes: The Beaker burial is without close parallel, although the character of the burial indicates that it belongs to a small group of similarly rich burials that have been discovered across Britain. These early burials belong to the Copper Age (Chalcolithic) horizon that marks the end of the Neolithic and the start of the Bronze Age (c.2400-2200 BC). Each of the five ornaments comprises a strip of thin sheet gold rolled to form a tubular 'bead'. Only small numbers of Beaker graves, both in Britain and continental Europe, contain gold ornaments and tubular beads of this sort are rare. Further examples are known in copper or bronze, but again they are far from common finds. The indications are that Kingsmead Quarry is an Early Beaker context making the ornaments some of the earliest goldwork from Britain.



These items are more than 4000 years old and the gold beads are composed of more than 10% precious metal, and therefore should be considered Treasure under the terms of the Treasure Act 1996. As the other objects were found within a secure burial context alongside the gold beads they should also be considered as Treasure by association.
Subsequent action: Submitted for consideration as Treasure