Object: Hoard (Bronze Age)
Period: Bronze Age to BRONZE AGE (-1200 to -1000)
Material: Copper alloy 
Found: Hurstbourne Priors, Basingstoke and Deane, Hampshire (South East)
Discovery method: Metal detector
Description: The hoard consists of seven objects (two tools and five ornaments). Among the ornaments there are three annular decorated armrings/bracelets, one spiral coiled finger-ring and one short section from a spiral twisted torc, all made of copper alloy. Among the tools there is a palstave axehead and a socketed hammer, both also in copper alloy. No other details of the composition/arrangement of the hoard (or of any other objects) were recorded.



Catalogue: 



1. Bracelet/armring, annular, decorated (complete) ('Liss' type). 



A complete copper alloy bracelet/armring decorated probably by engraving/incision, with several panels of decoration separated by less complex 'dividing' patterns. Condition is generally very good and the bronze is golden in patches and green/corroded in other areas. The decoration is relatively deep and has been applied with some degree of care. There are guidelines visible at various locations on the body of the bracelet/armring, which presumably relate to the application of the decoration. \



The complex decoration is best appreciated by photographs and line-drawings but the arrangement is as follows:



Panel A: Elliptic nested motifs built up from combinations of three lines separated by a row of dots alongside semi-circular patterns with the same design logic. These are arranged approximately one atop the other [i.e. ')('].



A 'dividing' section of 10 lines (running vertically to the circumference of the bracelet-armring - please note, this is true of all other decorative elements described as 'lines' in the below description), a row of stacked chevrons creating a herringbone pattern, five lines, a section of criss-cross decoration, seven lines.



Panel B: Is made up of a geometric pattern consisting of (filled and unfilled) chevrons on either side of a central bar that is made of line, dot and ladder motifs.



A 'dividing' section of three lines, a line of dots followed by three further lines.



Panel C: Is made up of nested chevrons, above and below which are panels that could only be appreciated from above rather than from the side view of the bracelet/armring. They consist of a line of dots with horizontal lines to both sides and a row of herringbone.



A 'dividing' section of three lines, a line of dots followed by three further lines, a section of criss-cross decoration, three lines, a lot of dots followed by three further lines.



A repetition of Panel B.



A 'dividing' section of three lines, a line of dots followed by three further lines.



Dimensions: External diameter: 88mm; Internal diameter: 59mm; Thickness of bar: (width) 15mm; (height) 18mm; Weight: 362g.



2. Bracelet/armring, annular, decorated (incomplete) ('Liss' type).



An incomplete copper alloy bracelet/armring (missing around a third of the original length). It is decorated probably by engraving/incision, with several panels of decoration separated by less complex 'dividing' patterns. The decoration is relatively deep and has been applied with some degree of care. Condition is generally very good and the bronze is golden in places but green/corroded in other areas.



The overall decorative scheme is very similar to bracelet/armring No. 1 and the same 'dividing' and 'panel' system used above can be applied:



Break in bracelet/armring that comes into a 'dividing' section of criss-cross decoration followed by three lines (running vertically to the circumference of the bracelet-armring - please note, this is true of all other decorative elements described as 'lines' in the below description), a line of dots followed by three further lines.



Panel B.



A 'dividing' section of three lines, a line of dots followed by three further lines



Panel A.



A 'dividing' section of five lines, a row of stacked chevrons creating a herringbone pattern, four lines, a section of criss-cross decoration, five lines, a row of stacked chevrons creating a herringbone pattern, five lines.



A repetition of Panel B which breaks off due to the missing section.



Dimensions: External diameter: 88mm; Internal diameter: 59mm; Thickness of bar: (width) 13-14mm; (height) 18mm; Weight: 257g.



3. Bracelet/armring, annular, decorated (complete) ('Liss' type). 



A complete copper alloy bracelet/armring decorated probably by engraving/incision. The decoration is simpler than bracelet/armrings Nos. 1-2 and it weighs less than the complete example (No. 1). It comprises of four panels carrying the same motif: tightly nested/stacked herringbone that face a mirror image of the same motif, creating this effect: '>><<'. The panels are separated by diving sections made up of lines that run vertically to the circumference of the bracelet/armring. There are four of these dividing sections. The number of the lines in each is not always identical (there are 12, 15, 16, and 16 respectively).



Dimensions: External diameter: 88mm; Internal diameter: 61mm; Thickness of bar: (width) 13mm; (height) 15mm; Weight: 295g.



4. Spiral finger ring. Made from a single bar of copper alloy that has been spiralled into two complete loops and two half loops at the top and bottom, where the terminals are forged down neatly, presumably to prevent them from catching/snagging. Small hammer marks are visible on the external surfaces. The condition is generally very good with patches of golden bronze mixed with green patches of corrosion.



Dimensions: Height (of spiralled stack): 22m; Diameter: 29-31mm; Thickness of bar used to make ring: 6mm; Height of bar used to make ring: 8mm; Weight: 56g



5. Spiral twisted torc fragment. A fragment of a copper alloy spiral twisted torc with old breaks at either end that appear to have been made in antiquity. The fragment still has soil adhering to the surfaces but it is possible to see that the metal has been twisted from a bar rather than cast to appear twisted.



Dimensions: Length (measured with a soft tape): 60mm; Thickness: 5.5mm; Weight: 9g.



6. Socketed hammer. A copper alloy socketed hammer. Condition is generally good, with patches of golden bronze and other areas of green corrosion. There is evidence of wear to the hammer's surface and sides. There is a small casting flaw near the collar: a small perforation that would not have interfered with the function.



Dimensions: Length: 70mm; Hammer's striking surface dimensions: (height) 26mm; (width) 15mm; Socket dimensions: (height) 25mm; (width) 22mm; collar thickness: 4mm; Weight: 148g.



7. Palstave axehead. An unlooped copper alloy palstave with central mid-rib and unpronounced stop-ridge. The palstave is best placed in Rowland's Class 3 (1976, 32-3). There are features in common with his Class 4 (the lack of pronounced stop-ridge) but this is not sufficiently strong to place it in that class, although some degree of hybridisation may have taken place.



Dimensions: Length: 143mm; Blade width: 60mm; Butt width: 20mm; Width of flanges: 30mm; Weight: 332g.



Discussion:



The finds catalogued above form part of a Taunton Assemblage hoard (c.1400-1250 BC). Several ornament hoards of Taunton phase have been found in Hampshire to date (see Roberts 2007; Wilkin 2016, 42-3, App. 2.1 and Treasure Case 2016 T940) and, more broadly, across Southern England (Ibid., in passim). The condition of the objects, and the presence of three decorated annular bracelet/armrings, two of which are decorated to a very high standard with complex motifs, makes this an important addition to the corpus of ornament hoards. The decoration of the three decorated bracelets/armrings deserves further study/commentary but for now it may be noted that the motifs are consistent with those from other known examples, several of which are from Hampshire (cf. Rowlands 1971).
Notes: As a single find of more than two objects of prehistoric date, the objects catalogued above (Nos. 1-7) constitute a find of Treasure as stipulated by the Treasure Act (1996) (Designation Order 2002). 





Bibliography:



Roberts, B. 2007. Adorning the living but not the dead: a reassessment of Middle Bronze Age ornaments in Britain. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 73, 135-67



Rowlands, M.J. 1971. 'A Group of Incised Decoration Armrings and their Significance for the Middle Bronze Age of Southern Britain', The British Museum Quarterly, XXXV (Nos. 1-4), 183-99



Rowlands, M. J, 1976. The Production and Distribution of Metalwork in the Middle Bronze Age in Southern Britain, BAR 3 I (i&ii)



Wilkin, N. 2017. 'Combination, Composition and Context: Readdressing British Middle Bronze Age Ornament Hoards (c.1400-1100 cal. BC)' In Martin, T.F & Weetch, R. (eds.), Dress and Society: Contributions from Archaeology, Oxford: Oxbow Books, 14-47
Subsequent action: Acquired by museum after being declared Treasure