More information : (ST 295587 located from Plan-Fig 3) Two gold bracelets were found in situ within a sand cliff during 1983. Pottery, bone and shell were found in association. The bracelets are Late Bronze Age and have parallels dated 1000-650 BC. It is unlikely the bracelets are a casual loss, as they appear to be deliberately concealed, perhaps a dedicatory deposit associated with the settlement, or the establishment of boundaries. The presence of gold scrap with the bracelets has led to the suggestion that these were part of a founders hoard with the implication of gold being worked on site. (1)
The bracelets were found by chance as they were weathering out of the sand in the cliff. A small fragment of sheet gold was found separately during sieving of material surrounding the bracelets. The discovery of the sheet gold could suggest that the metal was being worked on site, and also that the bracelets were unfinished. The context is an occupation layer containing pottery dated to the very Late Bronze Age, and the bracelets were found at the base of this. (2) |