File:2008 T589 Bronze Age flate plate scrap or ingot (piece 30). (FindID 235132).jpg

English: Treasure Case 2008 T589: Bronze Age Hoard

The hoard is comprised of two fragments of sword blade, one fragment of socketed chape, two fragments of socketed spear, one fragment of a spear ferrule and 31 fragments of flat plate.

Condition of the Metalwork

To a greater or lesser extent, all the items in the hoard have a brown staining, presumably caused by iron-rich minerals percolating through the soil. In parts of Essex this process created the indurated conglomerate used as a building material in churches (Turner 1988). It is evident from this homogenous and distinctive surface discoloration of the items reported here that they have a shared history, one best explained as deposition together as a hoard.

Hoard Catalogue

artefacts

1. Fragment of sword blade. Copper-alloy. The section is lozenge-shaped with very narrow blade edges. When it was broken into scrap metal it was left with more or less straight edges running at right angles across the blade. Length 32.6 millimetres; width 44.3 millimetres; depth 8.3 millimetres; weight 47.24 grammes.

2. Fragment of sword blade. Copper-alloy. The section is a shallow lentoid with narrow blade edges. When it was broken into scrap metal it was left with more or less straight edges running at right angles across the blade. Length 32.1 millimetres; width 47.1 millimetres; depth 5 millimetres; weight 35.57 grammes.

3. Fragment of socketed tongue chape (a chape is the terminal of a sword scabbard). Copper-alloy. Both sides have a prominent longitudinal central rib rising from gently concave faces which terminate in a flanged edge. The lower end of the chape is solid but the termination of the socket is apparent at the other (upper) end. The outer edges descend towards the (missing) end in a gentle concave curve. On one face there is a large straight removal of metal from the outer surface of the socket. Length 45.5 millimetres; width 34.3 millimetres; depth 10.4 millimetres; weight 28.73 grammes.

4. Fragment of socketed spear blade. Copper-alloy. The deep socketed midrib rises from a wing with a straight upper edge (at the tip end of the weapon), giving way to a curved edge towards the lower end of the fragment. The curved socketed midrib had been bent out of true when the item was broken up for scrap. At the same time, the blade was fractured in such a way that the breaks across both ends run more or less at right angles across the artefact. Bearing in mind the configuration of the piece, the original was a evidently a long and slender weapon. Length 63.9 millimetres; width 29.7 millimetres; depth 9.6 millimetres; weight 27.62 grammes.

5. Fragment of socketed spear blade. Copper-alloy. Enough of the midrib survives to show that it was socketed. One the one side where it is present, a slight bevel separates the narrow wing from the midrib. When the blade was broken up for scrap, the breaks across both ends ran more or less at right angles across the artefact. Length 44.8 millimetres; width 17.1 millimetres; depth 6.4 millimetres; weight 16.06 grammes.

6. Fragment of tubular spear ferrule (a ferrule is a cap fitted to the end of a spear). Copper-alloy. The item is part of the upper end of a tubular ferrule; the original top edge is present. When it was broken into scrap the tube was bent slightly out of true, making it hazardous to try and gauge the original diameter. Length 68.2 millimetres; width 21 millimetres; depth 6.4 millimetres; weight 17.56 grammes.

Hoard Catalogue

flat plate scrap

The plate scrap in the hoard is listed below. Its homogeneity is such that a detailed description of each individual piece would be inappropriate here, but a few general observations can be made. There are 31 fragments weighing 1.039.63 grammes, with an average fragment weight of 33.5 grammes. Fragment weights range from 13.16 to 62.51 grammes. Each piece is more or less flat, and ranges in thickness from 2.5 to 6.3 millimetres with an average thickness of 3.5 millimetres. No piece has the ribbing found on other finds of this plate scrap (Burgess 1969,fig.9 no.10, 37). Some pieces have chamfered edges (Fragment 31) but it is difficult to gauge if the edge in question was original. In one case (Fragment 30) the plate continues beyond the chamfer as a thinner sheet of metal. In at least two cases some of the original edge is present (Fragments 32-33). It is rounded in section and best described as sinuous, lobbed or curved in outline. No joins could be found in the material. The dearth of original finished edges gives the impression of scrap that had been detached from a much larger plate or plates.

Plate scrap of this kind is a component of Wilburton period hoards from Britain and the mainland of Europe (Burgess 1969, 37), but it is never common. Its is present in the County Roscommon (Republic of Ireland) hoard but as the hoard is unique for Ireland there is a possibility that it might be a modern import from overseas (Eogan 1983, 49).

7. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 82.1 millimetres; width 44.3 millimetres; 3.4 millimetres thick; weight 62.51 grammes.

8. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 73.8 millimetres; width 36.4 millimetres; 3.6 millimetres thick; weight 61.1 grammes.

9. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 93.4 millimetres; width 32.6 millimetres; 4.2 millimetres thick; weight 59.1 grammes.

10. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 75.7 millimetres; width 34.7 millimetres; 6.3 millimetres thick; weight 52.21 grammes.

11. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 65.4 millimetres; width 38.7 millimetres; 3.8 millimetres thick; weight 51.56 grammes.

12. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 96.9 millimetres; width 25.2 millimetres; 3.5 millimetres thick; weight 46.82 grammes.

13. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 72 millimetres; width 25.9 millimetres; 4 millimetres thick; weight 44.57 grammes.

14. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 74.5 millimetres; width 29.4 millimetres; 3.3 millimetres thick; weight 42.01 grammes.

15. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 100.4 millimetres; width 29 millimetres; 2.6 millimetres thick; weight 41.35 grammes.

16. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 73.6 millimetres; width 29.2 millimetres; 3 millimetres thick; weight 37.97 grammes.

17. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 67.5 millimetres; width 25.2 millimetres; 3.5 millimetres thick; weight 35.29 grammes.

18. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 62 millimetres; width 22.9 millimetres; 4.9 millimetres thick; weight 34.76 grammes.

19. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 48.7 millimetres; width 40.2 millimetres; 3.3 millimetres thick; weight 32.75 grammes.

20. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 65.4 millimetres; width 45.2 millimetres; 2.5 millimetres thick; weight 31.97 grammes.

21. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 41 millimetres; width 40.3 millimetres; 4.5 millimetres thick; weight 31.44 grammes.

22. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 52.3 millimetres; width 33.7 millimetres; 3.5 millimetres thick; weight 30.27 grammes.

23. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 60.9 millimetres; width 29.3 millimetres; 3.1 millimetres thick; weight 29.99 grammes.

24. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 69.9 millimetres; width 20.6 millimetres; 3.9 millimetres thick; weight 29.66 grammes.

25. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 69.3 millimetres; width 26.6 millimetres; 3.4 millimetres thick; weight 29.39 grammes.

26. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 71.5 millimetres; width 25.6 millimetres; 2.8 millimetres thick; weight 28.87 grammes.

27. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 53.2 millimetres; width 42.4 millimetres; 2.8 millimetres thick; weight 26.08 grammes.

28. Fragment copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 60.1 millimetres; width 35.2 millimetres; 2.7 millimetres thick; weight 26.01 grammes.

29. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 47.4 millimetres; width 29.2 millimetres; 3.4 millimetres thick; weight 22.92 grammes.

30. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 68.9 millimetres; width 24.4 millimetres; 2.5 millimetres thick; weight 21.18 grammes.

31. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 55.1 millimetres; width 31.1 millimetres; 2.9 millimetres thick; weight 21.16 grammes.

32. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 46 millimetres; width 39 millimetres; 2.7 millimetres thick; weight 17.71 grammes.

33. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 54 millimetres; width 33.8 millimetres; 2.7 millimetres thick; weight 17.05 grammes.

34. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 59.3 millimetres; width 15.8 millimetres; 3.2 millimetres thick; weight 15.31 grammes.

35. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 42.2 millimetres; width 23.4 millimetres; 2.9 millimetres thick; weight 14.21 grammes.

36. Fragment of copper-alloy flat plate scrap. Length 39.1 millimetres; width 25.6 millimetres; 3 millimetres thick; weight 13.16 grammes.

37. Fragment of unidentified metal, stained brown. Length 46.4 millimetres; width 25.2 millimetres; 6.3 millimetres thick; weight 31.25 grammes. This fragment differs in some respects from the other plate scrap fragments. It is thicker and the surfaces are less even, with a generally more irregular appearance. Although a Bronze Age date cannot be precluded, it has not been included in the total hoard weight or any other quantified data on the composition of the hoard.

An Interpretation of the Finds

The items reported here bear every appearance of material that had been broken up for scrap metal.

Casual losses of Bronze Age metalwork on the scale seen here are unknown. When bronze items are found on a contemporary settlement site, they are invariably tiny fragments of artefacts that had been overlooked or lost by accident (Needham 1980, 24-5).

Most metalwork in the Bronze Age was recycled for new tools and that accounts for the rarity of metal on settlements.

Bearing in mind the relatively large size of the fragments and the way in which they had been broken up for scrap (fractures at right angles to blades), there is every likelihood that they represent a small hoard of metalwork that had been disturbed since antiquity and dispersed in plough soil.

Hoard Weight

The 31 items in the hoard weight 1,212.41 grammes, with an average item weight of 32.76 grammes. More details are given in the Table. It should be borne in mind that the weights were taken before conservation of the hoard and that different weights may emerge after treatment of the finds. Dr M.G. Spratling pointed out to me that the plate scrap fragments are almost exactly six times the weight of the weapon fragments. If that is not coincidence, it suggests the hoard has been recovered in its entirety. An appendix by Dr M.G. Spratling below has some further observations on the metrology of the hoard.

number of items weight average weight weaponry 6 172.78g 28.78g Plate fragments 31 1,039.63g 33.53g totals 37 1,212.41 32.76g

Composition of the Hoard

Date

The key finds for dating the hoard are the fragments of plate scrap and the chape. Plate scrap of the kind found is typical of the Wilburton phase of late Bronze Age metalwork (Burgess 1969, 37), now dated c. 1140-1020 (Needham et al. 1998, 82, 90). The tongue-shaped sword chape is another diagnostic Wilburton artefact (O'Connor 1980, 146-7 his lozenge-section chape). Although the other material in the hoard is not exclusive to the Wilburton tradition, it can all be readily accommodated in a Wilburton context.

A Characterisation of the Hoard

The Hoard is a collection of scrap metal that had been destined for recycling in the Bronze Age to make new artefacts. It is dominated by thirty-one fragments of plate ingot. The only artefacts represented by its scrap metal are weaponry - a sword, spear and ferrule.

The Status of the Find as Potential Treasure

The items reported here were associated, found in the same place at the same time.

This is a collection of prehistoric copper-alloy metalwork that constitutes a hoard, more than 300 years old.

As such, there is a prima facie case for considering the find to be treasure, as defined in law.

An Archaeological Commentary on the Hoard

The great majority of the Bronze Age metalwork hoards discovered in Essex are late Bronze Age (Sealey 1988, 12), and of those nearly all belong to the c. 1020-800 BC Ewart Park phase. As we have seen, 2008 T589 belongs to the preceding c. 1140-1020 BC Wilburton phase of the late Bronze Age. Wilburton material is rare in Essex, and there is only one other hoard. This other hoard is a small cache of two razors and a sword broken into four fragments found only seven kilometres west of 2008 T589 (Piggott 1946, 126, fig.8, 138 nos 44-5; Jockenhövel 1980, 78 nos 222-3, Taf.13; Colquhoun and Burgess 1988, 41 no.148, 43, pls 25 and 144 no.148).

The other hoard provides the earliest context for heel-shaped razors in the British Isles, and this led Needham (1980, 20) to raise the possibility that its Wilburton sword might be a scrap survival in a hoard buried in the Ewart Park phase. In other words, 2008 T589 is our first unequivocal Wilburton hoard from Essex. As such, the hoard is a statement of unique importance about how warfare was conducted in the county at the end of the second millennium BC.

The plate ingot fragments that dominate the hard are rare finds. There were sixteen fragments in the County Roscommon (Republic of Ireland) hoard (Eogan 1983, 49, 325 nos 20-21), and seventeen from the Syon Reach (London) hoard (Needham and Burgess 1980, 443, 445; Needham 1987, 120, fig.5.15 nos 4-18; Cotton and Green 2005, fig.12 nos 4-18 & 31). With thirty-one pieces, 2008 T589 is the largest collection of such fragments from the British Isles.

2008 T589 is a hoard of some significance, and it is to be hoped that it is eventually acquired by a public museum for further research and more detailed recording.

Authorship

This report was completed in June 2009 by Dr Paul R. Sealey, Curator of Archaeology at Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service.

Appendix. Observations on the Metrology of 2008 T589

By Dr M.G. Spratling

The find consists of thirty-seven items, six of them weaponry, the rest of them fragments of plate scrap. All are fragmentary.

Weight of the weaponry: 172.78g (wn) Weight of the plate scrap: 1039.63g (pl)

Total weight: 1212.41g (to)

Average weight of the weaponry: 28.80g Average weight of the plate scrap: 33.54g Average weight of all fragments: 32.77g

Proportions in the weights and average weights:

wn : pl 1 : 6 thus, wn : to 1 : 7 pl : to 6 : 7 average wn : average pl 6 : 7

Accuracy of weighing:

1. wn x 6 is 1036.68g, 2.95g short of pl (1039.63g), thus 0.28% out, or accurate to 1 part in 357 (1 : 360, in round numbers)

2. pl ÷ 6 is 173.27g, 0.49g more then wn (172.78g); the accuracy is the same as in 1.

3. average wn x 7/6 is 33.6g, 0.06g more than average pl (33.54g), thus 0.18% out, or accurate to 1 part in 556 (1 : 560, in round numbers).

Comments

It is quite evident that a balance was used to select the items in this deposit.

The accuracy is reasonably good by Late Bronze Age standards; in gold hoards we often find accuracy as good as 1 : 1000

Without some external indicator we cannot discern whether the weight of the weaponry is in error or that of the plates scrap; at present the only indicator I have (I really need two or three) comes from the two-part gold hoard I from Downpatrick (County Down in Ulster) which in its entirety weighs 1037.98g (1.65g less than wn) which looks likely to be about right (so both pl and wn may be slightly wrong).

Dr Mansel G. Spratling, 73 Coolidge Gardens, Cottenham CB24 8RQ 31 May 2009

Bibliography

Burgess, C.B., 1969. 'The late Bronze Age in the British Isles and north-western France', Archaeol. J. 125 for 1968, 1-45

Cotton, J. and Green, A., 2005. 'Further prehistoric finds from Greater London', Trans London Middlesex Archaeol. Soc. 55 for 2004, 119-51

Eogan, G., 1983. Hoards of the Irish Later Bronze Age (Dublin)

Jockenhövel, A., 1980. Die Rasiermesser in Westeuropa (Prähistorische Bronzefunde 8.3) (Munich)

Needham, S.P., 1980. 'The bronzes', in D. Longley, Runnymede Bridge 1976: Excavations on the Site of a Late Bronze Age Settlement (Research Volume of the Surrey Archaeological Society 6) (Guildford), 13-27

Needham, S.P. and Burgess, C.B., 1980. 'The later Bronze Age in the lower Thames valley: the metalwork evidence', in J.C. Barrett and R.J.Bradley (eds), The British Later Bronze Age (British Archaeological Reports, British Series 83) (Oxford), 437-69

Needham, S.P., Bronk Ramsay, C., Coombs, D.G., Cartwright, C. and Pettitt, P., 1998. 'An independent chronology for British Bronze Age metalwork: the results of the Oxford radiocarbon accelerator programme', Archaeol. J. 154 for 1997, 55-107

O'Connor, B.J., 1980. Cross Channel Relations in the Later Bronze Age (British Archaeological Reports, Supplementary Series 91) (Oxford)

Piggott, C.M., 1946. 'The late Bronze Age razors of the British Isles', Proc. Prehist. Soc. 12, 121-41

Sealey, P.R., 1988. 'A Late Bronze Age hoard from Fingringhoe', Essex Archaeol. Hist. 18 for 1987, 7-15

Turner, B.R.G., 1988. 'The sources of indurated conglomerate from early medieval churches in north and east Essex', Essex Archaeol. Hist. 18 for 1987, 120

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Dr Paul R. Sealey, F.S.A. Curator of Archaeology Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service 5 June 2009