File:DUR-1F5057 , Hoard , Bronze Age (FindID 735143).jpg

1. Socketed axe. Copper alloy. Condition is generally very good, although the cutting edge is damaged in several areas. Casting seams are visible and have been trimmed and hafting flashes are visible inside the socket, at the blade end. The blade tips splay outwards (cf. No. 2) and there are three lines of decoration to both faces. The axe can be assigned to Type Yorkshire in Schmidt & Burgess's (1981) scheme.

Dimensions: Length: 85.0mm; Width: At blade: 56.77mm; At socket mouth: 39.4mm by 41.53mm (rectangular); At inside socket mouth: 29.16mm by 32.03mm; Loop: Outside: 22.67mm by 11.4mm; Inside: 11.03mm by 5.2mm; Weight: 192.33g

2. Socketed axe. Copper alloy. There are several patches of corrosion on the surface of the axe, which is an overall rusty-brown colour. Casting seams are visible and have been trimmed. The blade is relatively straight sided and the cutting blade tips do not splay outwards (cf. No. 1). The axe can be assigned to Type Yorkshire in Schmidt & Burgess's (1981) scheme.

Dimensions: Length: 90.69mm; Width: At blade: 46.95mm; At socket mouth: 35.38mm by 40.47mm (rectangular); At inside socket mouth: 28.55mm by 30.12mm; Loop: Outside: 23.23mm by 9.15mm; Inside: 5.92mm by 4.45mm; Weight: 187.75g

3. Socketed axe fragment. Copper alloy. Less than half of an axe, missing the mouth/collar and upper portion. The broken surfaces appear ancient. The surfaces of the blade are eroded and little of the original surface remains. The blade is straight sided but too little of the axe remains to confidently assign it to a typological group.

Dimensions: Length: 81.72mm; Width: At blade: 40.15mm; Weight: 49.4g

4. Socketed axe fragment. Copper alloy. Approximately half of a socketed axe, missing half of the loop and the mouth/collar. There are facets on both sides of both cutting faces. The original surface of the axe has peeled/flaked in several areas. The facets and narrow waist/mouth of the axe contrast with the Type Yorkshire axes from the hoard (No. 1-2) and this axe can be assigned to Type Meldreth in Schmidt & Burgess's (1981) scheme.

Dimensions: Length: 65.66mm; Width: At blade: 38.24mm; At break (surviving socket) 20.37mm by 16.87mm; Weight: 57.34g

Spearheads

5. Socketed, pegged spearhead. Copper alloy. Fragment representing the complete shaft/socket and approximately half of the original leaf-shaped blade. The upper half of the blade and tip are missing. The edges of the blade have been work hardened and are neatly stepped/bevelled. Condition is generally good although there are two small patches of the blade with missing surface areas and the cutting edges of the blade are broken away along both sides. Use-wear is visible on the remaining cutting surfaces of the blade.

Dimensions: Length: 171mm; Width: At break: 49.73mm; At socket: 27.4mm; Diameter of perforations: side 1: 5.9mm; side 2: 27.4mm; Thickness: At mid rib: 12.03mm; At original blade edge: 1.12mm; Weight: 146.31g

6. Spearhead, leaf-shaped and side-looped. Copper alloy. Loops close to base of shaft are flattened and have been hammered. The edges of the blade are bevelled but this appears to be a cast feature rather than work-hardening (cf. No. 5). The condition is generally good except a portion of the lower blade on one side, which has broken away. The spear-head can be assigned to the Late Bronze Age despite similar forms having a much earlier date. It was probably made during the Late Bronze Age rather than being a residual or curated object (see discussion below).

Dimensions: Length: 110.33mm; Width: At socket: 14.23mm by 16.07mm; At max of blade: 22.01mm; Thickness: At mid rib: 9.91mm; At original blade edge: 1.49mm; Loop: 18.97mm by 3.58mm; Weight: 59.71g

Swords

7. Sword blade fragment. Copper alloy. Portion from the blade of a leaf-shaped Late Bronze Age sword. The condition is generally good although the cutting edges of the blade are broken away along both sides. The edges of the blade have been work hardened and are neatly stepped/bevelled. It is not possible to assign the blade fragment to a particular typological grouping.

Dimensions: Length: 181mm; Width: max: 31.88mm; min: 23.4mm; Thickness: max mid: 5.93mm; original blade edge: 1.31mm; Weight: 154.59g

8. Sword blade fragment. Fragment from mid part of a leaf-shaped Late Bronze Age sword. The cutting edges are broken and patches of the original surface have flaked/peeled away.

Dimensions: Length: 134.01mm; Width: Max: 34.21mm; Min: 30.18mm; Thickness: At max mid: 5.66mm; At original blade edge: 0.8mm; Weight: 107.16g

9a. Portion of sword grip (Refits with No. 9b). Copper alloy. Patches of the original surface are peeling/flaking away, especially towards the join between fragments. There are two rivet holes. The sword is of Ewart Park type (Colquhoun & Burgess 1988).

Dimensions: Refitted length of 9a-b: 168mm; No. 9a: Length: 909.54mm; Width: At shoulder: 37.58mm (partly broken); At blade: 23.77mm; At hilt: 18.49mm; Thickness: At max mid: 6.46mm; Diameter of rivet holes: Side 1: 5.12mm; Side 2 (broken): 4.07mm; Weight: 90.13g

9b. Portion of sword hilt and lower blade (Refits with No. 9a) Copper alloy. Patches of the original surface are peeling/flaking away, especially towards the join between fragments. There are two rivet holes. The sword is of Ewart Park type (Colquhoun & Burgess 1988).

Dimensions: Length: 59.54mm; Width: At max/ terminal: 39.7mm; At min: 15.8mm; Thickness: Max: 5.03mm; Diameter of rivet holes: side 1 (partly broken): 5.92mm; Side 2: 4.13mm; Weight: 30.12g

10a. Portion of sword grip, hilt and lower blade (Refits with No. 10b & 10c). Copper alloy. Patches of the original surface are peeling/flaking away, especially towards the join between fragments. There are two rivet holes. The sword is of Ewart Park type (Colquhoun & Burgess 1988).

Dimensions: Refitted length of 10a-c: 163mm; Length: 109.2mm; Width: At shoulder: 49.64mm; At blade: 30.74mm; At hilt: 24.91mm; Thickness: At max mid: 6.12mm; At original blade edge: 1.68mm; Diameter of rivet holes: Side 1: 7.2mm by 5.75mm; Side 2: 12.86mm by 4.98mm; Weight: 86.79g

10b. Portion of sword grip. Copper alloy. Refits with sections 10a and 10c.

Dimensions: Length: 52.08mm; Width: Max: 34.13mm; Min: 21.42mm; Thickness: At max: 9.23mm; At min: 5.18mm; Weight: 22.05g

10c. Portion of sword grip. Copper alloy. Refits with sections 10a and 10c.

Dimensions: Length: 42.98mm; Width: 13.41mm; Thickness: At max: 7.75mm; At min: 2.9mm; Weight: 10.85g

Discussion

The objects from this find (Nos. 1-10) are all consistent with a Late Bronze Age date of the Ewart Park phase (c.900-800 cal BC) (Needham et al. 1997).

Type Yorkshire socketed axes (Nos. 1 - 2) are very common across Northern Britain, with number from the Tyne-Forth region (Schmidt & Burgess 1981, esp. pl 130). Type Meldreth blades (No. 4) are also known from the region and there is a concentration in the Tyne-Forth region (Ibid., pl. 128). The association of Type Yorkshire and Meldreth axes occurs in the Westow hoard from East Yorkshire (Ibid. pl. 145), and the Bilton hoard from West Yorkshire (Ibid., pl. 151). The Bilton hoard also contained pegged, lead-shaped spearheads and Ewart Park sword fragments. The spatial displacement of axeheads No. 2 and No. 4 (mentioned above) may reflect distinct deposits. However, the typological associations reviewed here suggest they can, on the balance of probabilities, be accounted for in terms of later disturbance of a single deposit or hoard by later agricultural activity and should be treated as a single find.

The pegged leaf-shaped spearhead (No. 5) is a well-known and well-represented Late Bronze Age spearhead type and frequently occur with the sword and axe types recovered from the Barnard Castle hoard. Notable examples include the Heathery Burn Cave assemblage, County Durham, which included pegged leaf-shaped spearheads, Ewart Park blade fragments (from a single sword) and Type Yorkshire socketed axes (Hawkes 1968).

The side looped spearhead (No. 6) is of a type well known during the Middle Bronze Age (cf. Davis 2012), but it appears to have been a type also produced during the Late Bronze Age, from the evidence of associations within other known hoards (Ehrenberg 1977, 9). Indeed a spearhead of this type was found in direct association with a socketed axe of Type Yorkshire at Fell Lane, Penrith, Cumbria (Burgess 1968, fig. 16, no. 8).

Ewart Park swords (Nos. 9-10) are widely known across Britain during this period, especially along the East coast and the examples from this hoard form part of a well-established distribution and association pattern (Colquhoun & Burgess 1981, pl. 127-31).

The fragmentary nature of the hoard is also consistent with Late Bronze Age hoards of the Ewart Park phase across the whole of Britain, including the north (cf. Burgess 1968), although these are more common in the South of England the Barnard Castle hoard therefore forms an important addition.

Conclusion

As a probable single find of two or more base metal objects of prehistoric date, this case qualifies as Treasure under the stipulations of the Treasure Act (1996), Designation Order 2002.

Bibliography

Burgess, C. 1968. Bronze Age Metalwork in Northern England c. 1000 to 700 BC. Newcastle: Oriel Academic Publications

Colquhoun, I. & Burgess, C., 1988. The Swords of Britain. Munchen: C. H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchandlung

Davis, R. 2012. The Early and Middle Bronze Age Spearheads of Britain. Munchen: C. H. Beck'sche, Verlagsbuchandlung

Ehrenberg, M. 1977. Bronze spearheads of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. British Archaeological Reports (British Series) 34

Hawkes, C.F.C. 1968. Late Bronze Age Finds in the Heathery Burn Cave, Co. Durham. Inventaria Archaeologica (Great Britain, 9^th Set: GB.55)

Needham, S.P., Bronk Ramsay, C., Coombs, D., Cartwright, C., & Petitt, P. 1997. An independent chronology for British Bronze Age metalwork: the results of the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Programme, Archaeology Journal 154, 55-107

Schmidt, P., & Burgess, C. 1981. The Axes of Scotland and Northern England. Munchen: C. H. Beck'sche, Verlagsbuchandlung

Authors

Rebecca Mansfield, Volunteer (University of Reading)

Neil Wilkin, Curator, European Bronze Age collections

9^th July 2016