Bronze Rings Research Articles

Notes on some distinctive types of bronzes from Populonia, Etruria

The weapons from Populonia and Vetulonia have been the subject of an admirable study by Signora Tallochini and I am most grateful for her help when I was working in the Archæological Museum at Florence, where I was afforded every facility for studying the bronzes from these sites.Tomb 7 at Piano delle Granate, Populonia, an inhumation ‘fossa’ grave contained the bronze dagger (fig. 1, no. 1), a fibula with slightly thickened round bow, a bronze ring, fragments of bronze nails and bronze hooks, and fragmentary remains of the bows and pins of fibulas. There was no pottery. The description and contents of the tomb are published in Notizie degli Scavi, 1917, p.76 and also in A. Minto, Populonia: la Necropoli arcaica, Florence, 1922, p. 64. This tomb was one of a group of ‘fossa graves’ excavated in 1915 and situated close to the seashore on the flat area known as Piano delle Granate. When I visited Populonia in 1953 it was still possible to locate the tholos tombs and the fossa graves, which, with many cremation burials, were found all over this area, in spite of the thickness of the ‘macchia’ often entirely covering the tombs. An examination of the relative position of the chamber tombs and fossa graves certainly confirmed Minto's conclusion based on a study of the contents of the three different kinds of burials, that the cremation, fossa and some of the earliest type of chamber tombs must all have been used contemporaneously. This group of tombs when excavated also yielded the series of stilted fibulas and the fibula ‘a serpegiante’ (fig. 2).

Fra jyllands ældste jernalder

A Pre-Roman Iron Age Cemetery at Nim in East ]utlandIn 1953, in the course of digging gravel in a little hill near the village of Nim, about 12 kms. northwest of Horsens in East Jutland, six graves from the earliest Iron Age were discovered. Five of them were taken up by the workmen, the sixth (Grave IV) being excavated by members of the Jutland Archeological Society. It is, however, certain that the objects discovered, and described below, do in fact belong to the graves with which they are here listed.The graves lay in a group near the summit of the hill, at a spacing of about 7 metres. This suggests that there were originally low barrows or cairns over each grave, but that these have been removed in the course of cultivation.Grave I. The pottery vessel in Fig. 1 contained burnt bones, together with two iron pins and bronze ornaments (Fig. 3). There were in addition the remains of one or more bronze armlets, and a macehead of sandstone, of Stone Age type.Grave II must have been a cremation patch containing sherds of the vessel shown in Fig. 2.Grave III. A pottery vessel with burnt bones.Grave IV. An urn-grave surrounded by blackened earth ("Urnebrandgrube"). In the urn lay a thin bronze ring, two iron pins, a massive belt-ring of bronze and a bronze clasp with double spiral (Fig. 5). The large break in the neck of the vessel must have been in existence at the time of burial, as otherwise the large ring could not have been introduced into the vessel.Grave V. A pottery vessel contained unidentifiable fragments of iron, part of a ring with lug and a spiral clasp, together with fragments of armlet, all of bronze, (Fig. 6), and burnt bones.Grave VI contained sherds of a pottery vessel.All six graves from Nim belong to the first period of the Pre-Roman Iron Age (ca. 500-- 300 BC). The objects found are typical for Central Jutland and, despite their unspectacular character, form the richest cemetery yet found in the area. The discovery gives us certain pointers to the local culture-grouping in the earliest Iron Age in Jutland. The Pre-Roman Iron Age in Denmark is now divided into three periods 5); Period I corresponds to Jastorf a and b in Holstein and Hanover, Period II to Jastorf c and Ripdorf, and Period III to Early and Late Seedorf. In Period I a local group can be distinguished in South Jutland and Schleswig (Fig. 7), characterized by the large urn-fields (Aarre, Uldal, etc.). Here it is possible to recognise an early and a late phase 10), the first being characterized by rolled-headed pins 11) and large belt-rings with lugs (as in Fig. 6 c), the second showing in contrast ring-headed pins 12) and triangular belt-hooks of iron.To the north of the local South Jutland group another group, contemporaneous and equally distinct, is found, the Central Jutland (Fig. 7). It is characterized by: 1. small cemeteries or single cremation graves; 2. cremation patches and "Urnenbrandgruben" are common (whereas almost unknown in the South Jutland group); 3. particular artifacts of metal, including small rings with lugs, like Fig. 3 d, and spiral clasps (Figs. 5 and 8; for distribution cf. Fig. 10); 4. peat-bog deposits, large and small, containing bronze rings 24) (Smederup near Odder con­taining over 350 rings, Falling Bog about 270 lugged rings, etc.); 5. coarser pottery; 6. artifact types which in the South Jutland group are confined to Period I a apparently persist in Central Jutland throughout the whole of Period I. Thus Nim appears to belong, on a basis of the pottery to late Period I, corresponding to I b further south.To the north of the Central Jutland group there appears to be a third local group, but its components are not yet sufficiently characteristic to permit of closer description. One special type may, however, be mentioned, a plate-clasp (Fig. 9; for distribution cf. Fig. 10).The three local groups within Period I of the Pre-Roman Iron Age in Jutland appear to have developed most clearly late in the period. They are therefore parallel to the Jastorf b group in Holstein. They appear to develop in all cases out of the much more homogeneous Period VI of the Bronze Age. Remarkably enough, the Jutland local groups in Period I appear to correspond geographically to important local groups in the Roman Iron Age 41). It should therefore be home in mind that these later local groups may well have traditions running far back into the Pre-Roman Iron Age.C. J. Becker

Irske bronzeøkser fra Ulstrup

Irske bronzeøkser fra Ulstrup

Fem af Bahrains hundrede tusinde gravhøje

Fem af Bahrains hundrede tusinde gravhøje

A "Silversmith's Hoard" from Mesopotamia

Sir E. Wallis Budge in his Guide to the Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum (1922), notices on p. 236 an interesting group of coins and other objects formerly exhibited in a table-case in the Assyrian room which contained “miscellaneous antiquities chiefly from Quyunjik and Nimrûd.” The notice runs “The contents of the shop of a worker in metals, consisting of lead handle of jug, bronze ring, pieces of lead and silver and a group of Persian sigli and coins from Lycia, Samos, Tyre, Aspendus, Cyprus, Sidon, Athens, and Aegina.” The most important piece, the jug-handle (which is, of course, silver and not lead) has been already published by Filow and Paul Jacobsthal. The rest has escaped notice until now, and as it comprises some fragments, and a series of coins, interesting from more than one point of view, it seems worth while to record them more fully. I am indebted to the Keeper of the Department, Mr. C. J. Gadd, for his kind permission to do so here, and to Mr. R. D. Barnett, for help and advice on many points of detail. The coins have now been transferred to the Department of Coins and Medals.

Notes: (4) One Hundred Years Ago, Aberdeen Journal, Wednesday, March 29, 1843

Workmen discovered under a cairn an ancient burial place, covered by a large flat stone. On removing this, they found articles including two bronze vessels, seventeen spear or axeheads of bronze, thirty to forty bronze bracelets and six bronze rings. The whole of these interesting relics are in admirable preservation, and are evidently of Roman manufacture, and so belong, at the latest, to the middle of the fourth century.

Electro-formed Reflectors

THE construction recently of 62-in. searchlight reflectors at the Bart Laboratories, New Jersey, shows, according to the Electrical Review of April 11, that satisfactory progress is being made in modern electro-forming methods. An electro-formed nickel-surfaced mould is first of all made and a coat of nickel 0-003-0-005 in. thick is applied to the outer passivated nickel face. Then follows a coating of copper, to which a pre-formed bronze ring is applied, and the assembly is given a heavy deposit of copper. These firmly bonded layers are stripped from the mould in the form of a bi-metal reflector with copper on the convex face and nickel on the inner polished face. To prevent the introduction of copper into the rhodium bath, a protective mask is fitted on the copper side. The reflector is now ready to receive its rhodium-plating, and in this instance a ‘flash’ of rhodium 30 millionths of an inch thick appears satisfactory.

The Excavation of the Sculptor's Cave, Covesea, Morayshire

An account of the excavation of Sculptor’s Cave made famous by its Pictish carvings, which was led by Sylvia Benton. The earliest Bronze Age phase of occupation is represented by a range of objects including gold and bronze rings, bracelets, worked bone objects including needles and pottery. Material from the Roman phase include bronze rings, bracelets, wire and glass beads, pins, toilet instruments, needles, samian and native pottery and coins. Disarticulated human bone comprised mainly children. Animal bone was also present throughout.

Research Items

A Saxon Sword from Wales.—Mr. C. E. Vulliamy describes in Man for May the discovery of a bronze ring and sword in a hut-circle in the parish of Llowes in Radnorshire. The wall of the hut is marked by a low bank of turf and stones. The interior is filled with sandstone blocks of moderate size, probably fallen from the roof. A lining of massive blocks seems to have served as a revetment of the inside of the walls. A trench across the enclosure from east to west revealed the floor at a depth of eighteen inches to two feet. A small flint knife broken in two pieces and damaged by fire, and two pieces of burnt flint, were found. A surprising find was a small, thick, bronze ring, 1½ in. in diameter, in debris above the floor in the western sector. This was followed by the discovery of an iron sword, broken in two and thickly covered with yellow rust. It was lying on the collapsed material of the wall. The blade of the sword was badly corroded and the point was missing, but it is undoubtedly Saxon and, it may be assumed, belongs to the pagan period, dating at about A.D. 400-500. The tang and shoulders correspond with datable Saxon swords of about that time. A La Tène date seems improbable, but in the absence of the pommel exact dating is impossible. The length of the sword from tang to point was probably about thirty-four inches. It is interesting to note that the find was made fourteen or fifteen miles from Offa's Dyke and eight or nine miles south of Garth Maelwys, where the Welsh are supposed to have defeated the Mercians in 723. A Saxon dagger and spear ferrule have been recorded from one of the Worlebury hut-circles near Weston-super-Mare.

Two Irish Bronze-Age Finds containing rings

Both finds belong to the latest portion of the Irish Bronze Age, Montelius's fifth period (1150-800 B.C.). The first was recently acquired by the Royal Irish Academy. The circumstances of its discovery are obscure; no more definite information being obtainable than that the objects were dug up near an old ruined castle in co. Westmeath about the month of January, 1922. It includes a bronze socketed celt, and twenty-four complete and one imperfect cast bronze rings. The objects are well covered with an agreeable grey-green patina, with the exception of one ring which was scraped clean, presumably to see of what metal it was composed. The looped axe-head is of characteristic Irish type with oval mouth and broad cutting edge. A little below the mouth it is ornamented with a raised band, the mouth being similarly encircled. The largest ring, which has an external diameter of 4.3 inches, is hollow; the remainder have been cast solid. The illustration (pi. XIII) will dispense with a detailed description of the various rings.

Note upon Carn nan Bharraich, or Cairn of the Men of Barra, a Burial Mound of the Viking Time on the Island of Oronsay, Argyllshire, with an outline of the Political History of the Western Isles during the latter half of the Ninth Century

The mound was excavated in 1891 and artefacts included an oblong bronze brooch, a portion of a bronze penannular brooch of Celtic form, a portion of a small oval bronze ring, a bead of serpentine, a bead of amber, an iron knife-blade, six fragments of sheet bronze, a quantity of iron rivets or clinker nails and a stone sinker. Two extended skeletons, an adult male and female, were revealed. Further excavation revealed a pair of iron shears. The burial of persons wearing pagan ornaments, on Oronsay, which had for at least between one and two centuries prior to this time been a sanctuary of the early Celtic Church, is worthy of notice. The mound is situated some distance from the Christian Cemetery, but is within the sanctuary. An account of the historical background provides a context for the burials.

Tombs of Hellenic Date at Praesos

Professor Bosanquet has kindly asked me to publish the contents of the following tombs found on the east side of the gravel ridge, west of the road from Vavelloi (modern village) to ancient Praesos. The description of the objects is derived in the main from notes made at the time of excavation by Mr. J. H. Marshall in 1901 (cf. B.S.A. viii. pp. 231 ff.). I have added remarks on some of the ornaments (chiefly in gold and silver) which were discovered.Tomb 2.—Small b.-f. kylix.Tomb 3 (unbuilt).—Corinthian vase with four projecting handles; two pyxides, one broken.Tomb 6 (unbuilt).—Burnt b.-f. fragments; amphora of common ware; two toilet vases, red clay, sepia slip; small common juglet with two handles.Tomb 8 (burnt).—Bones; a few beads; b.-f. toilet vase; jug with high neck, of common ware.Tomb 9 (roughly built).—Two silver pins (one illustrated below, Fig. 4, on the r.; long-necked amphora with high shoulder handles, intact (25·8 cm. high); toilet vase with rounded sides; shell; iron axe above tomb, which was 1 m. deep.Tomb 10 (built of square blocks; floor ·71 m. down).—Silver ring; b.-f. fragments; common vase fragments, some incised with cross-hatchings; flat vase, like upper part of toilet vase, in bright red clay with sepia slip.Tomb 12 (roughly outlined and covered with irregular slabs; cremation).—Beads; burnt silver pins (?); part of iron strigil; fragments of b.-f. toilet vase; bronze ring and more beads near the tomb, probably belonging to it.

Excavations at Palaikastro. V

Although it had been intended to close the excavation in 1905, a few days were spent in 1906 in clearing up doubtful points. Work was carried on for only eight days with about ten men, but in spite of this small scale of operations a good deal of fresh light was thrown on the nature of Late Minoan II. burials. I was assisted throughout by Mr. J. P. Droop, of Trinity College, Cambridge.Our first object was to test the field in which were found some years ago two stone moulds for making castings of female figures, double axes, and other objects. The field lies on the left of the road from Siteia to Palaikastro, just before the first houses of the hamlet of Haghia Triadha are reached. The results were disappointing: a day and a half's trenching exposed the scanty remains of a Minoan (probably Late Minoan III.) house, but as no signs of wealth were found, the work was discontinued.The next site tried was Pláko, a mountain dairy a little south of Palaikastro, high up between the hill of Petsofá and Cape Pláka. Two years before the owner had cleared out a hollow underneath a projecting ledge of limestone, in order to make a cistern, and in the small deep cave so opened had found two ‘blossom’ bowls, a fine lentoid gem, a bronze ring and human remains. The objects, except the ring, which had been destroyed, were secured for the Candia Museum.

Scientific Serials

Scientific Serials

Notice of the Discovery of Five Bronze Celts and a Bronze ring at the 'Maidens,' near Culzean Castle, Ayrshire

Notice of the Discovery of Five Bronze Celts and a Bronze ring at the 'Maidens,' near Culzean Castle, Ayrshire

Note regarding two bronze rings, recently dug up near Stobo Castle, Peeblesshire, the Seat of Sir Graham Montgomery

Two bronze rings that were uncovered during road works near Stobo Castle were exhibited. The Fellows of the Society suggested that they were items of personal ornament that were buried alongside their owner.

XXXVIII.—On Horse-trappings found at Westhall. In a Letter from Henry Harrod, Esq., F.S.A., to J. Y. Akerman, Esq., Secretary

I had the honour of exhibiting, at a Meeting in May last, a collection of remarkable antiquities which had been shortly before found in Suffolk.A farmer at Westhall (a small village about three miles north-east of Halesworth) was engaged in draining a field, called the “Millpost Field,” carrying the trenches to a depth of between two and three feet from the surface, in a stiff clayey soil, and in the direction of a small watercourse which ran along the east side of the field. A space of about two acres in extent, in the lowest part of the field adjoining the watercourse, presented, when ploughed up, a much darker soil than the other parts of it; and in making his drains through this part of the field much burnt earth and fragments of pottery were thrown out of the trenches. Near the centre of the space, and about two feet from the surface, he met with a quantity of bronze rings and other fragments, which he gave to a Mr. Hylton, a Norfolk farmer, who communicated the discovery to me, and enabled me to exhibit them to the Society: and in order that every possible information might be obtained, I joined them, on the 2nd of May, and carefully went over the ground with the spade. All the bronze fragments had been gathered together, and my search added nothing to the collection.

Inscribed Runic Ring

A bronze ring with a runic inscription, found in St Andrews in 1849, was exhibited, and the author points out that it is believed to be the only known example of Anglo-Saxon paleography in Scotland outside of the Ruthwell Cross. Although conceding that the ravages of time have left little decipherable about the inscription, he talks about the etymology of rune and the association of runes with magic and charms. The author disccuses a number of surviving rings whose inscriptions show them to have been used for medical purposes.

XII.—An Account of various Objects of Antiquity, found near Amiens, in France, in the Spring of 1848. In a Letter from Lord Albert Conyngham to John Yonge Akerman, Esq., Secretary

I forward herewith ten objects of antiquity, found some time since in France. They were discovered by labourers employed on the railroad near the town of Amiens, at a spot where other objects of the Gallo-Roman period were met with. The men came to a leaden coffin of great thickness, which contained two skeletons. By the side of the smaller skeleton, supposed to be that of a female, were the articles numbered one to seven. The three remaining articles; namely, the large bronze pin, the bronze fibula, and the bronze ring, were discovered, it is said, by the side of the larger skeleton.