Welcome

Gathering the Jewels features over 30,000 images of objects, books, letters, aerial photographs and other items from museums, archives and libraries throughout Wales.

Search the map

Thumbnail image of Wales,

New to Gathering the Jewels is G.I.S. A geographical search facility that will enable searching by location and place name.

Topics

Home » Neighbourhood and Community » Birth, Marriage and Death » Bronze Age burial sites

Displaying results 1 to 6 out of 27

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Next >

  • The Mold cape is a unique ceremonial gold cape which dates from the Bronze Age. This is a replica of the original which is held in the British Museum, London. The cape was found in 1833 by workmen who were quarrying for stone in an ancient burial mound in Mold. The mound lay in a field named Bryn yr Ellyllon (the Fairies' or Goblins' Hill). The workmen uncovered a stone-lined grave containing the crushed gold cape around the remains of a skeleton. The cape would not have been suitable for everyday wear and would have been worn on ceremonial occasions. The cape is regarded as one of the finest examples of prehistoric sheet-gold working and is unique in form and design. It was beaten from a single gold ingot and decorated with ribs and bosses. It was attached to a lining, possibly of leather, which covered the chest and shoulders of the wearer.
The Mold gold Cape (replica) c. 1900-1600 BC
  • These pottery urns date from the Bronze Age and were discovered at the burial site known as 'Bedd Branwen' [Branwen's Grave], near the river Alaw, Llanbabo, Anglesey. By 1600 B.C. cremation had become the normal means of human burial. Following the cremation ceremony, the ashes and bones were either gathered and buried in a hole in the ground or were left on the surface. More attention was paid to the ashes on some occasions and they were placed in containers such as the pottery urns shown here. The two large pots shown here are cremation urns which belong to two separate burials. The larger of the two urns (from burial L) has a decorated collar with a rope design. An accessory pot was also found nearby which contained the ear-bones of a baby. The smaller of the two cremation urns (from burial C) has a collar which has been decorated with sharp incisions. No accessory pots were found with this burial but a single jet bead had been placed at the bottom of the urn as a grave offering. The smallest of the three pots is an acessory pot. These smaller vessels were often placed near the cremation urn and may have contained food or drink. This acessory pot was found close to burial H and contained dark earth and the ear-bones of a new-born baby.
Bronze Age pottery from Bedd Branwen burial site, Anglesey
  • Grave goods from the Bronze Age which were discovered at the burial site known as 'Bedd Branwen' [Branwen's Grave], near the river Alaw, Llanbabo, Anglesey. By 1600 B.C. cremation had become the normal means of human burial. Following the cremation ceremony, the ashes and bones were either gathered and buried in a hole in the ground or were left on the surface. More attention was paid to the ashes on some occasions and they were placed in containers such as pottery urns. Sometimes items such as tools, weapons or personal ornaments were burnt and/or buried with the deceased. The grave goods shown here include weapons such as arrow heads, arrow smoothers and battle axes. Also shown are a bone pommel which fits on the end of the handle of a knife and a sandstone hone, on which to sharpen the non-existent blade of the knife. Both these items were found in burial B where they had been burnt with the body.
Bronze age grave goods from Bedd Branwen burial site, Anglesey
  • Ear bones which were discovered at the burial site known as 'Bedd Branwen' [Branwen's Grave], near the river Alaw, Llanbabo, Anglesey. By 1600 B.C. cremation had become the normal means of human burial. Following the cremation ceremony, the ashes and bones were either gathered and buried in a hole in the ground or were left on the surface. More attention was paid to the ashes on some occasions and they were placed in containers such as pottery urns. Sometimes items such as tools, weapons or personal ornaments were burnt and/or buried with the deceased. On rare occasions in north Wales, the ear bones of children were also buried in accessory vessels near the cremation urns. The extraction of ear bones from the skull was a determined act as they are difficult to locate. There were three instances of this peculiar practice at Bedd Branwen where ear bones were found in three separate accessory pots.
Bronze age grave goods from Bedd Branwen burial site, Anglesey
  • Bone bead (Hg) which was discovered at the burial site known as 'Bedd Branwen' [Branwen's Grave], near the river Alaw, Llanbabo, Anglesey. By 1600 B.C. cremation had become the normal means of human burial. Following the cremation ceremony, the ashes and bones were either gathered and buried in a hole in the ground or were left on the surface. More attention was paid to the ashes on some occasions and they were placed in containers such as pottery urns. Sometimes items such as tools, weapons or personal ornaments were burnt and/or buried with the deceased. There is a difference between objects which adorned the corpse on the pyre and those which were placed for the use of the deceased in the after-life as offerings. The bone bead shown here was worn at the time of cremation by an important man, worthy of a rich burial (from burial H).
Bronze age grave goods from Bedd Branwen burial site, Anglesey
  • Symbolic knife (Hm) which was discovered at the burial site known as 'Bedd Branwen' [Branwen's Grave], near the river Alaw, Llanbabo, Anglesey. By 1600 B.C. cremation had become the normal means of human burial. Following the cremation ceremony, the ashes and bones were either gathered and buried in a hole in the ground or were left on the surface. More attention was paid to the ashes on some occasions and they were placed in containers such as pottery urns. Sometimes items such as tools, weapons or personal ornaments were burnt and/or buried with the deceased. There is a difference between objects which adorned the corpse on the pyre and those which were placed for the use of the deceased in the after-life as offerings. The knife shown here was carried at the time of cremation by an important man, worthy of a rich burial (from burial H).
Bronze age grave goods from Bedd Branwen burial site, Anglesey