Secrets of 3000-year old Bronze Age hoard found in Highlands revealed
www.thenational.scot
THE secrets of a Bronze Age hoard buried over 3000 years ago in a village in the Highlands have been revealed ...
  • supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz
    2·
    2 days ago

    One find, a penannular ornament adorned with 37 rings, is the most complete and complicated example of its type ever found in Scotland.

    …

    An isotope and metallurgical analysis discovered that the metals came from England and Wales, and closely match bronze items found in the Carnoustie Hoard. They say this gives a clear signal on where Bronze Age Smiths in Scotland were sourcing their metals.

    “What makes the Rosemarkie hoard so significant is not just the metalwork,” said Buckley. “It’s the organic remains found clinging to it. Bracken stems and fronds were used as packing when the artefacts were buried.

    …

    “Detailed examination of the radiocarbon dates suggests that the different roundhouses were not all occupied at the same time but represent a small community, perhaps a family lineage, building successive roundhouses, occupying different spaces in different periods across the site,” Iraia Arabaolaza, who managed the project, explained.

    It was towards the end of this settlement that the Rosemarkie hoard was buried.

    This really does seem like a hoard not some kind of ritual thing necessarily, also the practicalities of how you packed away fragile items in the Bronze Age in this are fascinating to me.