The Accomplished Art

The Accomplished Art PDF

Author: George Eogan

Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13:

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Around 1500 gold objects from the British and Irish Bronze Age survive in collections today. Based on studies of these objects, this volume presents an evaluation and interpretation of the material in social terms, and is complemented by distribution maps and illustrations of typical examples of each class or sub-class in their own right, gold objects of the Bronze Age are also vital documents aiding our understanding not only of the work of craftsmen and technicians but also of the broader aspects of society such as social stratification, trade, commerce and ritual. After examining the natural and historical setting of British and Irish gold, this book looks at gold-working at four main periods during the Bronze Age: Beaker societies and the earliest insular gold objects; gold working in an age of industrial expansion and wealth; cultural transformation of the 13th-12th centuries BC; final late Bronze Age gold, apogee and end.

Ritual in Early Bronze Age Grave Goods

Ritual in Early Bronze Age Grave Goods PDF

Author: John Hunter

Publisher: Oxbow Books

Published: 2014-10-31

Total Pages: 593

ISBN-13: 1782976949

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The exotic and impressive grave goods from burials of the ÔWessex CultureÕ in Early Bronze Age Britain are well known and have inspired influential social and economic hypotheses, invoking the former existence of chiefs, warriors and merchants and high-ranking pastoralists. Alternative theories have sought to explain the how display of such objects was related to religious and ritual activity rather than to economic status, and that groups of artefacts found in certain graves may have belonged to religious specialists. This volume is the result of a major research that aimed to investigate Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age grave goods in relation to their possible use as special dress accessories or as equipment employed within ritual activities and ceremonies. Many items of adornment can be shown to have formed elements of elaborate costumes, probably worn by individuals, both male and female, who held important ritual roles within society. Furthermore, the analysis has shown that various categories of object long interpreted as mundane types of tool were in fact items of bodily adornment or implements used in ritual contexts, or in the special embellishment of the human body. Although never intended to form a complete catalogue of all the relevant artefacts from England the volume provides an extensive, and intensively illustrated, overview of a large proportion of the grave goods from English burial sites.

Prehistoric Gold in Europe

Prehistoric Gold in Europe PDF

Author: Giulio Morteani

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-06-29

Total Pages: 604

ISBN-13: 9401512922

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Interest in the study of early European cultures is growing. These cultures have left us objects made of gold, other metals and ceramics. The advent of metal detectors, coupled with improved analytical techniques, has increased the number of findings of such objects enormously. Gold was used for economic and ceremonial purposes and thus the gold objects are an important key to our understanding of the social and political structures, as well as the technological achievements, of Bronze and Iron Age European societies. A correct interpretation of the information provided by gold and other metal objects requires the cooperation of experts in the fields of social, materials and natural science. Detailed investigation of gold deposits in Europe have revealed the composition and genesis of the deposits as sources of the metal. In Prehistoric Gold in Europe, a group of leading European geoscientists, metallurgists and archaeologists discuss the techniques of gold mining and metallurgy, the socioeconomic importance of gold as coinage and a symbol of wealth and status, and as an indicator of religious habits, as well as a mirror of trade and cultural relations mirrored by the distribution and types of gold objects in prehistoric times.

The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age

The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age PDF

Author: Anthony Harding

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2013-06-27

Total Pages: 1016

ISBN-13: 0191007323

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The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age is a wide-ranging survey of a crucial period in prehistory during which many social, economic, and technological changes took place. Written by expert specialists in the field, the book provides coverage both of the themes that characterize the period, and of the specific developments that took place in the various countries of Europe. After an introduction and a discussion of chronology, successive chapters deal with settlement studies, burial analysis, hoards and hoarding, monumentality, rock art, cosmology, gender, and trade, as well as a series of articles on specific technologies and crafts (such as transport, metals, glass, salt, textiles, and weighing). The second half of the book covers each country in turn. From Ireland to Russia, Scandinavia to Sicily, every area is considered, and up to date information on important recent finds is discussed in detail. The book is the first to consider the whole of the European Bronze Age in both geographical and thematic terms, and will be the standard book on the subject for the foreseeable future.

Gold

Gold PDF

Author: Susan La Niece

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 9780674035904

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"Highly prized for its brilliance, colour and value, the special qualities of gold make it suitable for many purposes: not only does it resist corrosion and reflect light, but gold can be beaten into a leaf so thin is is translucent, and a single gram can be drawn to make a fine wire kilometers long. Filled with beautiful illustrations of golden objects from the rich collection of the British Museum, this book will appeal to all those who have ever worn, admired or coveted gold." --Book Jacket.

The Aigina Treasure

The Aigina Treasure PDF

Author: Nigel Meeks

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13:

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Since its arrival at the British Museum in 1891, the Aigina Treasure - a group of Greek Bronze Age gold jewellery and other objects that is believed to come from the island of Aigina - has been shrouded in mystery and speculation. The many uncertainties about the Treasure include: its place of origin; whether all the objects are from the same findspot; whether it should be considered as a homogenous group. Through examination of stylistic elements and comparison with objects from other collections, the contributors to this volume variously argue for the Treasures possible Minoan, Mycenaean, Near Eastern and Egyptian connections. Major discoveries in the field have been made since Reynold Higgins' 1979 publication on the Treasure, including the excavation of a warrior shaft grave in Aigina in 1981. The essays are complemented by a complete catalogue of the Treasure, which incorporates the results of an extensive technological examination and is accompanied by specially taken, beautiful colour photographs.