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THE FINDSPOTS OF BRONZE AGE METALWORK IN LOWLAND ENGLAND: A NEW FIELD STUDY
Author(s) -
Dunkin David,
Yates David,
Bradley Richard
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
oxford journal of archaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1468-0092
pISSN - 0262-5253
DOI - 10.1111/ojoa.12181
Subject(s) - archaeology , ornaments , geography , bronze , geology , style (visual arts)
Summary This paper is concerned with the deposition of Middle and Late Bronze Age metalwork in three study areas extending from the coast of south‐east England to the edge of the Fenland. It considers where hoards and single finds have been discovered and is based on inspection of over 300 findspots on the ground. It investigates regions in which tools and ornaments are common, but also extends to those with a stronger representation of weapons. While rapiers, swords and spears are found in rivers, terrestrial finds often come from sites close to springs, aquifers and confluences and favour areas with fresh water rather than salt water. Others are from more prominent locations on high ground or in low‐lying positions like dry valleys. We suggest that such places played a role in a tiered cosmology. Metalwork was deposited where the underworld or the sky came into contact with the landscapes inhabited in daily life.