palstave
- Museum number
- 1998,0901.2
- Description
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Copper alloy palstave, butt missing.
- Dimensions
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Length: 51 millimetres
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Weight: 114.30 grammes
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Width: 51 millimetres
- Curator's comments
- The Salisbury hoard originally consisted of over 500 copper-alloy objects which were illegally excavated in 1985 at Netherhampton, Wiltshire, England. The objects were subsequently acquired by the British Museum from finders and collectors. It remains one of the largest hoards ever found in Britain and is virtually unique in containing objects from the Early Bronze Age through to the Late Iron Age – several of which are either rare or unique. The chronological span of the copper-alloy objects ranges from flanged axes dating to the Arreton metalwork phase of the Early Bronze Age (c. 1700-1500 BC); through the palstaves, socketed axes, razors, chisels, ferrules and dirks of the Acton Park, Taunton and Penard metalwork phases of the Middle Bronze Age (c. 1500-1140 BC); through the socketed axes, spearheads, pins, chapes, socketed gouges, knives, ferrules and buttons of the Wilburton and Ewart Park metalwork phases of the Late Bronze Age (c. 1140-800 BC); through the socketed axes, chapes and razors of the Llyn Fawr metalwork phase of the Earliest Iron Age (c. 800-600 BC); through to the miniature cauldrons and miniature shields dating to the Middle-Late Iron Age (c. 200-100 BC). The mysterious ‘drinking horn’ recovered in subsequent excavations at Netherhampton led by Ian Stead (British Museum) may also date to this latest period.
With artifacts ranging from the Early Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age, Netherhampton contains objects which not only have a date range of over 2,200 years but includes objects representing nearly every century of the intervening time. It seems likely that the whole group were buried together in the later Iron Age, probably in the first or second century BC. This is extremely unusual. Occasionally hoards will produce a piece or two from an earlier time period, such as Danebury, Hagebourn Hill, and perhaps Hounslow, but this is a rare occurrence. Batheaston provides the closest parallel to the Salisbury hoard in terms of the magnitude of recycled objects from the Bronze Age (see Stead 1998, 120-122). Some of the Bronze Age objects from Salisbury were over 2000 years old when they were buried. These may have been first deposited in the Bronze Age, and later re-discovered by Iron Age farmers. These would have been unusual and unfamiliar objects in the Iron Age, and this may explain why they were selected for deposition in the Salisbury hoard.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1998
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- 1998,0901.2
- Additional IDs
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Miscellaneous number: 1988.121.001 (collector number)
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Miscellaneous number: 407 (database number)
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Miscellaneous number: AL.120 (Lawson number)