Finds / Bronze Age
Bronze Age Wessex was among the richest regions in prehistoric Europe, its barrow cemeteries and monument complexes concentrated on the same chalk uplands that our permissions cover. Metalwork of the period is scarce, and finding it usually means a considerable depth of ploughing has brought it within reach of a detector.
Objects from this period are often fragmentary. Axes, palstaves and blades were routinely broken up for recasting, and hoards of scrap metal were buried and never recovered. A single fragment can still be dated closely on the basis of its type, so nothing is dismissed as unidentifiable in the field.
Bronze Age gold is rare and always significant. Any prehistoric object of gold or silver, and any group of two or more prehistoric base-metal objects from the same find, qualifies as Treasure and is reported to the coroner through the Finds Liaison Officer.
What turns up from the Bronze Age period
- Gold ornaments, including bracelets, rings and sheet fittings
- Palstaves, socketed axes and blade fragments
- Hoard material, often deliberately broken before deposition
- Awls, pins and other small tools
Every find below was recorded by a Midweek Searchers member and, where a reference has been assigned, reported through the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Exact findspots are withheld out of respect for our landowners.
