The Milton Keynes hoard
Late Bronze Age, about 1150-800 BC
Found near Milton Keynes, England
The hoard comprises two gold torcs, three bracelets and a tiny
fragment of bronze rod or wire found within an undecorated pottery
bowl. It was found by two metal-detectorists, whose diligence in
reporting the find to local archaeologists ensured that the
information on the context of the find is very good. As a result we
have the first certain association between a gold hoard and pottery
for the British Middle to Late Bronze Age (about 1500-800 BC).
Bronze Age gold metalwork is usually found in isolation, but the
associated pottery vessel helps confirm, and may eventually refine,
the dating of this hoard. The find provides an invaluable link
between gold types and the broader social and economic picture for
Bronze Age Britain.
Weighing in at over two kilos, this is one of the biggest
concentrations of Bronze Age gold known from Britain and seems to
flaunt wealth. The two torcs are penannular (open) neck-rings of
elliptical cross-section. One torc is decorated with incised lines,
except for a plain strip along the rear face, and with more complex
groove decoration near the terminals. The other is only decorated
near the terminals, with a band of close-set grooves. Two of the
bracelets are very chunky 'C'-shaped rings of elliptical
cross-section. The third has an octagonal cross-section.