File:Bronze Age gold object made from twisted strip (FindID 481213).jpg

English: Description: Fragment of flat object, probably a Bronze Age bracelet. It is neatly made from five lengths of gold strip or wire laid parallel to each other and curved round to form a U shape. In the centre is a strip of gold bent in half; the two halves of the U are alongside each other with no space in between. One half of the U is flat, 1.2mm wide and 0.7mm thick; the other half is twisted. Both ends are broken and are roughly the same length. A second similar piece of twisted strip lies alongside and forms an outer U shape alongside the first; again, both ends are the same length and are both broken. Two further parallel lengths of strip-twisted wire are then added, but on one half of the U shape the ends are broken off short, and here the wire is squashed and rather flattened. A small rivet hole, c. 0.8-0.9mm in diameter, has been cut through these two shorter pieces. A flat, untwisted strip forms the outer border, again broken off even shorter on one half of the U, only just past the bend.

The lengths of wire have been soldered together using a gold solder and the quality of the workmanship is good. The breaks look fresh. The entire object has been bent across its short axis and some of the wires have sprung apart. There is no noticeable difference between both faces of the object.

Dimensions: Surviving maximum width 8.7mm. Unbent surviving length c. 26mm. Thickness c. 0.9-1.0mm. Weight 1.5g.

Discussion: Barbara Armbruster has drawn attention to two parallels, both Bronze Age bracelets, one from the Salcombe shipwreck find off Devon, and one from in the Middle Bronze Age Burton hoard found near Wrexham (PAS-5B1745, no. 2). The gauges of the wire on all three objects are similar, but both of the bracelets have all strands of wire twisted, and have straight rather than curved ends. The Burton bracelet has no perforation, whereas the Salcombe object has a perforation close to the end similar to that on the Anstley fragment.

The Burton hoard has been acquired by the National Museum of Wales. The Salcombe shipwreck find has been acquired by the British Museum and a SEM photograph of the bracelet has been published in B. Roberts and C. Voysey, Trading Places, The British Museum Magazine, Autumn 2011, 44-5.

Date: Bronze Age, probably 1300-1150 BC, the likely date-range of the Burton hoard.