Object: Hoard (Bronze Age)
Period: Bronze Age to BRONZE AGE (-1000 to -800)
Material: Copper alloy 
Found: Bythorn and Keyston, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire (Eastern)
Discovery method: Metal detector
Description: Bronze Age Founders hoard, 21 pieces in total.



Curator's report:



Circumstances of discovery: 



In 2014 twenty-one fragments of Late Bronze Age metalworking debris ... (Nos. 1-21, below). The objects appear to belong to a single find or 'hoard'.



Descriptive catalogue




A sub-triangular fragment of a copper alloy bun ingot. The fragment is plano-convex and one side is rounded, indicating that the fragment once formed part of the outer circumference of the ingot. The object is covered with green patina and mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion.




Max. Length: 96.4 mm, Max. Width: 84.3 mm, Max. Thickness: 32.0 mm; Weight: 578.2 g.




A sub-rectangular fragment of copper alloy bun ingot. The fragment is plano-convex and covered with green patina and mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion.




Max. Length: 72.3 mm, Max. Width: 49.4 mm, Max. Thickness: 32.6 mm; Weight: 496.0 g.




A fragment of copper alloy bun ingot. The fragment is plano-convex and one side is rounded, indicating that the fragment once formed part of the outer circumference of the ingot. The fragment is covered with green patina and mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion.




Max. Length: 54.7 mm, Max. Width: 39.7 mm, Max. Thickness: 24.4 mm; Weight: 183.0 g.




A fragment of copper alloy bun ingot. The fragment is plano-convex and the convex face is very uneven. The fragment is covered with green patina and mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion.




Max. Length: 76.6 mm, Max. Width: 65.1 mm, Max. Thickness: 35.4 mm; Weight: 497.1 g.




A fragment of copper alloy bun ingot. The fragment is plano-convex and one side is rounded, indicating that the fragment once formed part of the outer circumference of the ingot. The fragment is covered with green patina, mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion and attached soil debris.




Max. Length: 106.0 mm, Max. Width: 59.6 mm, Max. Thickness: 39.1 mm; Weight: 694.8 g.




A sub-triangular fragment of copper alloy bun ingot. The fragment is plano-convex and one side is rounded, indicating that the fragment once formed part of the outer circumference of the ingot. The fragment is covered with green patina, mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion and attached soil debris.




Max. Length: 69.5 mm, Max. Width: 68.6 mm, Max. Thickness: 23.6 mm; Weight: 224.2 g.




A fragment of copper alloy bun ingot. The fragment is plano-convex and the fragment is covered with green patina, mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion and attached soil debris.




Max. Length: 47.6 mm, Max. Width: 33.2 mm, Max. Thickness: 30.6 mm; Weight: 204.2 g.




A fragment of copper alloy bun ingot. The fragment is plano-convex and one side is rounded, indicating that the fragment once formed part of the outer circumference of the ingot. The fragment is covered with green patina, mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion and attached soil debris.




Max. Length: 67.9 mm, Max. Width: 38.3 mm, Max. Thickness: 21.4 mm; Weight: 156.9 g.




A piece of copper alloy casting waste. Sub-rectangular in shape; both faces are flat. The piece is covered with green patina and mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion.




Max. Length: 21.5 mm, Max. Width: 12.9 mm, Max. Thickness: 7.2 mm; Weight: 8.1 g.




A piece of copper alloy casting waste. One face is uneven and the other side is convex. The piece is covered with green patina and mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion.




Max. Length: 18.4 mm, Max. Width: 17.3 mm, Max. Thickness: 3.1 mm; Weight: 3.5 g.




A piece of copper alloy casting waste. Both faces are flat and are covered with green patina and mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion.




Max. Length: 12.1 mm, Max. Width: 10.7 mm, Max. Thickness: 4.7 mm; Weight: 2.4 g.




A copper alloy casting jet. It has a short and broad reservoir leading to a short, single, conical feeder. It is plano-convex and is covered with green patina and mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion.




Max. Length: 28.1 mm, Max. Width: 18.9 mm, Max. Thickness: 9.3 mm; Weight: 14.6 g.




A fragment of a copper alloy indistinguishable blade. A rounded midrib is discernible and the fragment has a lenticular cross-section. The surface is smoother and is covered with green patina.




Max. Length: 25.8 mm, Max. Width: 20.7 mm, Max. Thickness: 3.8 mm; Weight: 6.3 g.




An indistinguishable copper alloy blade fragment. The fragment is from the blade edge and one side appears to have been once bordering the midrib. The fragment is triangular in section and is covered in green patina with discernible scratches on the surface.




Max. Length: 25.8 mm, Max. Width: 13.4 mm, Max. Thickness: 5.7 mm; Weight: 4.9 g.




A tip fragment of a potential leaf-shaped spearhead; the fragmentary nature of the object makes it difficult to identify with certainty. The object has a central rounded midrib which extends to the blade tip and the sides curve widely, indicting the overall leaf-shaped nature of the spearhead. The cross-section is lozenge shaped. The object has a smooth surface and is covered with green patina.




Max. Length: 31.4 mm, Max. Width: 26.6 mm, Max. Thickness: 5.3 mm; Weight: 10.6 g.




A fragment of a copper alloy socketed axe. The fragment consists of the mouth and an unlooped side of a socketed axe. Due to the fragmentary nature of the axe, it is difficult to confidently assign a type; however based on the mounded collar, mouth and overall slender appearance, it is possibly of South-Eastern type (Needham 1990, 28). The casting seams are visible and it would appear that the axe has been horizontally squashed, creating a pinched appearance. The object has a smooth surface and is covered with green patina; there is soil debris attached to the interior.




Max. Length: 52.6 mm, Max. Width: 31.4 mm, Max. Thickness: 23.1 mm; Weight: 40.2 g.




A piece of copper alloy casting waste or casting jet. The piece is plano-convex and roughly triangular in shape with a conical protrusion. It is covered with green patina and mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion.




Max. Length: 21.1 mm, Max. Width: 15.7 mm, Max. Thickness: 10.9 mm; Weight: 13.2 g.




A piece of copper alloy casting waste. It is plano-convex and covered with green and brown patina and mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion.




Max. Length: 19.5 mm, Max. Width: 20.5 mm, Max. Thickness: 4.1 mm; Weight: 5.0 g.




A piece of copper alloy casting jet. The reservoir is wide and short with a flat top, leading to a rounded, conical feeder. It is covered with green patina and mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion.




Max. Length: 24.0 mm, Max. Width: 27.9 mm, Max. Thickness: 22.0 mm; Weight: 31.3 g.




A fragment of a copper alloy bun ingot. The fragment is plano-convex and covered with green and black patina and mounds and pits of copper alloy corrosion.




Max. Length: 34.4 mm, Max. Width: 28.5 mm, Max. Thickness: 18.7 mm; Weight: 31.0 g.




A damaged copper alloy socketed axe. One face is almost entirely complete, with a large piece of the cutting-edge missing; the other face is also missing a section of the mouth. The axe is undecorated and overall quite slender. The mouth is wide with casting remains on the rim, flashes are visible on the interior; the external casting seems are present on either side, but do not extend below the loop. Due to the fragmentary nature of the axe, it is difficult to ascertain a specific type, however it is likely of South-Eastern, Class A type (Needham 1990, 28). This type dates to the Late Bronze Age, Ewart Park phase, c. 920-800 BC (Needham et al. 1997, 82). The axe is covered with a green patina and the interior contains soil debris, which affects the object's weight.




Max. Length: 83.7 mm, Max. Width: 46.4 mm, Max. Thickness: 26.6 mm; Weight: 133.3 g.



The nature of this group of objects (ingot pieces and fragmentary objects) implies that they were deposited together and are related to the metalworking process, as they are typical of material which would be melted down and recycled.



The two socketed axe fragments are both likely to belong to the South-Eastern Type, Class A (Needham 1990, 28) and these objects can therefore be used to date the to the Ewart Park phase of the Late Bronze Age (c. 920-800 BC). Parallel fragmentary examples have been found across Southern England, for example, as part of the Petters metalwork hoard (Needham 1990).



As the fragments (Nos. 1-21) are of Late Bronze Age date and appear to represent a single deposit of two or more copper alloy finds of prehistoric date, they qualify as Treasure under the stipulations of the Treasure Act (1996) (Designation Order 2002).



Davis, R. 2012. The Early and Middle Bronze Age Spearheads of Britain. Mainz: Akademie Der Wissenschaften Und Der Literatur.



Needham, S. P. 1990. The Petters Late Bronze Age Metalwork. London: British Museum.



Needham, S. P. et al. 1997. An Independent Chronology for British Bronze Age Metalwork: The Results of the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Programme. Archaeological Journal, Vol. 154, 55-107.



Schmitt, P., and Burgess, C. B. 1981. The Axes of Scotland and Northern England. Munchen: C. H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchandlung



Authors



Caroline Chestnutt, Volunteer for the British Museum



Neil Wilkin, Curator for the European Bronze Age, British Museum
Subsequent action: Returned to finder