tour 4 of 5
Religion and ritual in Iron Age Britain
Bronze spoons
What were these large spoons used for? By
studying where they were found and the particular patterns on the
spoons, archaeologists can come to some conclusions about their
use. It is almost certain that they were not used for eating or
serving everyday food.
The
spoons were found in a bog near a natural spring. Objects were
often offered as sacrifices in bogs, lakes and rivers in the Iron
Age. Spoons like these are usually found in pairs, one of which
always has a small hole on the right side, and the other is always
decorated with a cross. It has been suggested that water, blood or
beer might have been allowed to drip through the hole in one spoon
onto the other during attempts to divine the
future.