File:Bronze Age unidentified object (FindID 805233).jpg

English: A cast copper alloy 'moustache' shaped object of uncertain use but probably Middle Bronze Age date. The object consists of a pair of drooping ovoid elements with pointed outer tips, hence 'moustache' shaped. These ovoids are decorated with multiple grooves running down the body of each ovoid but stopping before the tip. This decoration is now very worn and the surface corroded so the grooves are only visible in a few places. In the centre of the two drooping ovoids is a plain band running around the waist of the object, this band is triangular in profle with a flat top and sides narrowing until the ovoids meet at the base. On the underside is a deeply recessed oval hole making this central band hollow. The entire piece is 32.3mm long, 10.5mm wide and 16.3mm deep, it weighs 13.79 grams.

The use and date of these objects remains enigmatic. A good number of these have now been recovered by detectorists are recorded on the PAS database. There is some variation in these objects, some have very pronounced but slimmer ovoids with long tips, others are short and squat like this example and, for example SF-B58222, DENO-0E9FA1 and BERK-3F46D5 on this database. Some have holes going completely through, others are just hollow like this example. The angle between the two ovoids also varies from around 120 degrees as on this example to much more parallel. It is possible that these objects may have been dagger fittings, with the hole a rest for the tang, but again without any evidence this is speculation.

Examples from the Salisbury Hoard (Stead, 1998) were found alongside Bronze Age metalwork but with deposition in the Iron Age. Examples from Suffolk (SF-520513 and SF-9183) were found loosely associated with a scatter of Middle Bronze Age finds, as were an example from Methwold, Norfolk. More recently and example came from excavation at Clay Farm, Cambridgeshire (cf. NMS-F2BA41, NMS-1F5E55) however it was found outr of context and features on site dated from the Middle Bronze Age to Late Iron Age and beyond. These suggest a possible Middle Bronze Age - Iron Age date for the current object.

This is probably the first example of this type of object the PAS has recorded from Somerset and possibly the most westerly example known.