An Exotic Early Bronze Age Funerary Assemblage from Stanbury, West Yorkshire

Richardson, Jane; Vyner, Blaise

doi:10.1017/s0079497x00000621

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 12 publications

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“…As Needham notes (, 69), each of the special British cups is unique. Yet the practice of making special cups and of depositing them in special contexts, in Britain most often in burials (see also Richardson and Vyner ), is relatively widespread.…”

Section: Cups In Bronze Age Europementioning

confidence: 99%

Unique Objects, Special Deposits and Elite Networks in Bronze Age Europe

Wells

2016

Oxford J Archaeology

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Summary Most material culture of later prehistoric Europe comprises common forms of pottery, personal ornaments, and tools of different kinds. But some objects stand out by virtue of their unique decoration. These special objects were often ornamented with motifs and patterns that were intended to capture and hold the viewer's attention. Many such objects were purposefully deposited, sometimes in graves, sometimes in ‘structured deposits’. In the Early and Middle Bronze Age, ornate cups played special roles, both in expressing the status of elites and in serving as common elements in long‐distance connections between elites in different regions of Europe. An unusual pit at Kelheim in Bavaria, Germany, serves as a case study to explore the connections between uniquely decorated cups, the emergence of elites during the Early and Middle Bronze Age, and the formation and maintenance of long‐distance connections between communities throughout Europe.

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Section: Cups In Bronze Age Europementioning

confidence: 99%

Unique Objects, Special Deposits and Elite Networks in Bronze Age Europe

Wells

2016

Oxford J Archaeology

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The Use and Significance of Early Bronze Age Stone Battle-axes and Axe-hammers from Northern Britain and the Isle of Man

Roy¹

2020

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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The perforated stone battle-axes and axe-hammers of Early Bronze Age Britain have been used either to interpret the status of individuals they were buried with or have been overlooked; this is especially the case with axe-hammers. Previous understandings have assumed battle-axes were purely ceremonial, while the rougher axe-hammers were neither functional nor prestigious, being too large and too crude to be prestige items. Studies of the 20th century were focused on creating a typology and understanding the manufacture and petrological sources of the stone, concluding that haphazard exploitation of stone was used to create a variety of different shapes of both implements. This paper revisits the question of how these artefacts were used. It presents the results of the first large-scale application of use-wear analysis to British Early Bronze Age battle-axes and axe-hammers, from northern Britain and the Isle of Man. Combining the results of the wear analysis with experimental archaeology and contextual analysis, it is argued that these objects were functional tools, some of which saw prolonged use that might have spanned multiple users. The evidence shows that the few implements found in burial contexts were both functional and symbolic; their inclusion in burial contexts drawing upon relational links which developed through the itineraries of these objects. It is also apparent that use and treatment were similar across all types of battle-axe and axe-hammer, with some regional variation in the deposition of axe-hammers in south-west Scotland. It is concluded that battle-axes and axe-hammers had varied and multiple roles and significances and that it is possible to discover what each artefact was used for by deploying a use-wear analysis methodology.

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A New Context for Rock Art: a Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Ritual Monument at Fylingdales, North Yorkshire

Vyner¹

2011

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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After fire swept across 2.5 km2 of heather moorland the detail of a wide range of archaeological features was revealed. Among these was a so-far unique small circular monument, the principal component of which was a circle of near-upright slabs set in a shallow trench. The stones included one with a complex pecked geometric design reminiscent of some Grooved Ware ceramic decoration, and another with more commonly found cup-mark and linear motifs. Limited excavation was undertaken in response to disturbance of the monument and it was discovered that the stone with complex decoration had been reshaped for its monumental setting, having perhaps previously been a free-standing decorated monolith. In its altered form the stone formed part of a small circular arena, the interior face of which may have included alternating decorated and undecorated stones. The open arena had later been filled with rubble creating a small cairn, its material including a small block detached from the main stone as well as a number of cup- and other marked stones. Apart from the decorated stones there were no diagnostic artefacts and no direct dating information was present. It is suggested that the decorated stones originate in the later Neolithic period and that the monument containing them was constructed in the Early Bronze Age.

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An Exotic Early Bronze Age Funerary Assemblage from Stanbury, West Yorkshire

Cited by 5 publications

References 12 publications

Unique Objects, Special Deposits and Elite Networks in Bronze Age Europe

Unique Objects, Special Deposits and Elite Networks in Bronze Age Europe

The Use and Significance of Early Bronze Age Stone Battle-axes and Axe-hammers from Northern Britain and the Isle of Man

A New Context for Rock Art: a Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Ritual Monument at Fylingdales, North Yorkshire

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