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52-568: The Amesbury Archer is an early Bronze Age ( Bell Beaker ) man whose grave was discovered during excavations at the site of a new housing development ( grid reference SU16324043 ) in Amesbury near Stonehenge . The grave was uncovered in May ;2002. The man was middle aged when he died, estimated between 35 and 45, and is believed to date from about 2300 BC. He is nicknamed "the Archer" because of

104-569: A "plausible vector for the spread of early Celtic languages into Britain". There was much less migration into Britain during the Iron Age and so it is likely that Celtic had reached Britain before then. The study also found that lactose tolerance rose swiftly in early Iron Age Britain, a thousand years before it became widespread in mainland Europe, which suggests that milk became a very important foodstuff in Britain at this time. Gold working in

156-447: A "symbolic as well as a decorative function". First developed in 1836 by Danish archaeologist Christian Jürgensen Thomsen as a part of his " Three-age system ", the term " Bronze Age " is used by archaeologists to refer to those societies which have developed bronze technology but not yet learned how to work the more complicated process involved in making iron objects. The European Bronze Age lasted from c.  3200 BCE , when

208-541: A century later, gaining its first Bronze Age gold artefact, a disk from Kirk Andrews on the Isle of Man, in 1782. In 1980, Joan J. Taylor published the first comprehensive study of the available evidence, entitled Bronze Age Goldwork of the British Isles . In 1994, the archaeologist George Eogan published an academic monograph on the subject, entitled The Accomplished Art: Gold and Gold-Working in Britain and Ireland during

260-545: A date as late as 2000 BC, and others set 2200 BC as the demarcation between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. The period from 2500 BC to 2000 BC has been called the "Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age" in recognition of the difficulty of exactly defining the boundary. Some archaeologists recognise a British Chalcolithic when copper was used between the 25th and the 22nd centuries BC, but others do not because production and use were on

312-620: A homogeneous group" which, when "taken in conjunction with other metal types demonstrate that a new technology was introduced." Early Bronze Age pieces are generally much smaller, with very thin decorated discs or plaques common. Two small gold cups have been found in England, the Rillaton Cup and the similar but now crushed Ringlemere Cup . Due to its natural resources, Ireland had a "rich Early Bronze Age [metal-working] industry", producing large quantities of metal axes, halberds and daggers, and as

364-407: A kit of flint-knapping and metalworking tools, including cushion stones that functioned as a kind of portable anvil , which suggests he was a coppersmith; and some boar tusks. A piece of iron pyrite , which sparks when struck by flint to start a fire, had been well used with grooves worn along its sides. On his forearm was a black stone wrist-guard . A similar red wrist-guard was by his knees. With

416-521: A major genetic shift in late Neolithic/early Bronze Age Britain and up to 90% of Britain's Neolithic gene pool may have been replaced with the coming of a people genetically similar to the Beaker people of the Lower Rhine region (modern Netherlands/central-western Germany), which had a high proportion of steppe ancestry . According to the evolutionary geneticist Ian Barnes , "Following the Beaker spread, there

468-477: A migration) into Southern Great Britain around the 12th century BC. The disruption was felt far beyond Britain, even beyond Europe, as most of the great Near Eastern empires collapsed (or experienced severe difficulties), and the Sea Peoples harried the entire Mediterranean basin around that time. Cremation was adopted as a burial practice, with cemeteries of urns containing cremated individuals appearing in

520-592: A much later influx of people from continental Europe which occurred in the Late Bronze Age between 1000 and 875 BC. The character of Arthmael in Mark Patton 's novel Undreamed Shores is based on the Archer. Bronze Age Britain Bronze Age Britain is an era of British history that spanned from c.  2500–2000 BC until c.  800 BC . Lasting for approximately 1,700 years, it

572-403: A part of this also had a "major gold industry", seeing the production of lunulae and gold disks on a far larger scale than Britain. The transition to the Late Bronze Age brought societal change to the British Isles, and also apparently increased availability of gold, which led to a trend to much larger and more massive pieces. The largest were jewellery worn round the neck in a range of styles,

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624-570: A short distance from the Boscombe Bowmen , whose bones were excavated the following year. The Archer was quickly dubbed the King of Stonehenge in the British press due to the proximity of the famous monument and some even suggested that he could have been involved in its construction. However, such speculations have been rejected by archaeologists. His is just one high-profile burial that dates from around

676-510: A small loop or ring to make lashing the two together easier. Groups of unused axes are often found together, suggesting ritual deposits to some, but many archaeologists believe that elite groups collected bronze items and perhaps restricted their use among the wider population. Bronze swords of a graceful "leaf" shape, swelling gently from the handle before coming to a tip, have been found in considerable numbers, along with spear heads and arrow points. Great Britain had large reserves of tin in what

728-640: A small scale. In Ireland, the final Dowris phase of the Late Bronze Age appears to decline in about 600 BC, but iron metallurgy does not appear until about 550 BC. Around 2500 BC, a new pottery style arrived in Great Britain: the Bell Beaker culture . Beaker pottery appears in the Mount Pleasant Phase (2700–2000 BC), along with flat axes and the burial practice of inhumation . People of this period were responsible for building Seahenge , along with

780-434: A society that has divisions along rank." Archaeologist George Eogan, in his study of Bronze Age gold-working, noted that very few Bronze Age gold artefacts had been discovered through "controlled archaeological investigation", with the majority instead having been unearthed "by chance", as a result of "agricultural activities or peat-cutting". In the 21st century, metal detectorists have become important, for example with

832-436: A younger man related to the Archer, as they shared a rare hereditary anomaly, calcaneonavicular coalition, fusing of the calcaneus and of the navicular tarsal (foot bones). This younger man, sometimes called the Archer's Companion, appears to have been raised in a more local climate. The Archer was estimated to be about forty at the time of his death, while his companion was in his early twenties. The graves were discovered

884-402: Is believed to be one of the earliest gold metalworkers in Britain , and he provides an example of a person bringing Bell Beaker culture and its pottery directly from continental Europe. The DNA of the Archer's skeleton was difficult to analyse at first and had to be omitted from a 2018 study of 226 Bell Beaker burials from across Europe, although DNA from the nearby 'Companion' was included in

936-509: Is much harder than copper, by mixing copper with a small amount of tin . With that discovery, the Bronze Age began in Great Britain. Over the next thousand years, bronze gradually replaced stone as the main material for tool and weapon making. The bronze axehead, made by casting , was at first similar to its stone predecessors but then developed a socket for the wooden handle to fit into and

988-639: Is now Cornwall and Devon in South West England and thus tin mining began. By around 1600 BC, the South-West experiencing a trade boom, as British tin was exported across Europe. Bronze Age Britons were also skilled at making jewellery from gold , as well as occasional objects like the Rillaton Cup and Mold Cape . Many examples have been found in graves of the wealthy Wessex culture of Southern Britain, but they are not as frequent as Irish finds. The greatest quantities of bronze objects found in what

1040-580: Is now England were discovered in East Cambridgeshire , where the most important finds were recovered in Isleham (more than 6500 pieces ). The earliest known metalworking building was found at Sigwells, Somerset, England. Several casting mould fragments were fitted to a Wilburton type sword held in Somerset County Museum. They were found in association with cereal grain that has been dated to

1092-589: Is possible. A further finding was that the Archer had a greater amount of Early European Farmer ancestry ( c.  45 %) than the Companion ( c.  33 %). It had already been shown from strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of the Archer's 2nd premolar and 3rd molar teeth (which mineralise at different ages) that the Archer spent his childhood in Central Europe, probably in the Western Alps. By contrast

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1144-491: Is typically slight in torcs and bracelets, but extreme in clothes fasteners and ear decorations. Tightly wound spirals in pairs are popular, as they were on the continent. Eogan (1994) noted that around 250 surviving gold objects are known to date to the Early Bronze Age, 165 of those from Ireland, and the other 83 from Britain. From analysing the designs of the earliest gold artefacts in Britain, Eogan noted that they "form

1196-525: The Aegean civilizations of Greece first developed bronze technology, right through to c.  600 BCE , when the Nordic Bronze Age came to an end with the development of iron among Scandinavian communities. The period known by archaeologists as Bronze Age Britain lasted from c.  2500 BCE through to c.  800 BCE , and was defined by the adoption of copper and bronze technologies on

1248-459: The Hallstatt culture . In 2021, a major archaeogenetics study uncovered a migration into southern Britain during the 500-year period from 1300 to 800 BC. The newcomers were genetically most similar to ancient individuals from Gaul and had higher levels of Early European Farmers ancestry. From 1000 to 875 BC, their genetic marker swiftly spread through southern Britain, which made up around half

1300-504: The sarsens and trilithons at Stonehenge may have been raised by the time he was born, although a new bluestone circle may have been raised around the time of his birth. The Archer's grave yielded the greatest number of artefacts ever found in a British burial from the Early Bronze Age. Among those discovered were: five funerary pots of the type associated with the Beaker culture ; three tiny copper knives; sixteen barbed flint arrowheads;

1352-510: The 12th century BC by carbon dating . The rich Wessex culture developed in southern Great Britain during that time. The weather, previously warm and dry, became much wetter as the Bronze Age continued, which forced the population away from easily-defended sites in the hills and into the fertile valleys . Large livestock farms developed in the lowlands which appear to have contributed to economic growth and inspired increasing forest clearances. The Deverel-Rimbury culture began to emerge during

1404-616: The 18th century at the least, although at the time many were melted down or lost. Only with the rise of the antiquarian and then archaeological movements were the antiquity of these items recognised, after which they were more usually preserved in collections. The archaeologist George Eogan noted that investigation of Bronze Age gold artefacts revealed not only "the work of craftsmen and technicians" from that period but also aided our understanding of "broader aspects of society such as social stratification, trade, commerce and ritual." In prehistory gold could be found in several areas of Europe;

1456-527: The Archer's tooth enamel has suggested that he originated from an alpine region of central Europe. An eroded hole in his jaw showed that he had had an abscess, and his missing left kneecap suggests that he had an injury that left him with a painful lingering bone infection. His skeleton is now on display at the Salisbury Museum in Salisbury . A male skeleton found interred nearby is believed to be that of

1508-587: The Bronze Age British Isles Around 1,500 gold objects dating to the Bronze Age survive in collections, around 1000 of them from Ireland and the other 500 from Britain; this is a much smaller number than would have been originally crafted, leading archaeologists to believe that "many thousands of gold objects were made and used" in the Bronze Age British Isles. Records indicate that Bronze Age gold artefacts had begun to be discovered by

1560-471: The Bronze Age, with smaller tombs often dug into the primary mounds. There has been debate amongst archaeologists as to whether the "Beaker people" were a race of people that migrated to Britain en masse from the continent or whether a Beaker cultural "package" of goods and behaviour, which eventually spread across most of Western Europe, diffused to Britain's existing inhabitants through trade across tribal boundaries. However one recent study (2017) suggests

1612-751: The Carpathian region, Iberia, south-western France, Brittany, Britain and Ireland. The latter in particular had rich gold reserves, and as such has been labelled an "ancient El Dorado ". Across the world, and in many cultures, gold has been highly valued as a precious metal , in part because of its rarity and also because of its properties; for instance, unlike bronze it is malleable , flexible and homogenous, and can be worked by hammering, rather than having to be worked through casting, annealing or soldering. Any products made from gold do not corrode, but instead have what has been described as an "intrinsic beauty", with many prehistoric peoples probably ascribing gold items

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1664-497: The Companion appears to have been born in Wessex, but spent part of his childhood in Europe, perhaps in the same region of the Western Alps. Although the Archer may have spoken an Indo-European language , it does not follow that he spoke an early form of Irish or Welsh. The authors of a 2021 study of large-scale migration into Britain favour the view that Celtic languages were introduced by

1716-585: The Irish Middle Bronze Age, and then in the Late Bronze Age by the spectacular "gorgets" of thin ribbed gold, some with round discs at the side, of which 9 examples survive, 7 in the National Museum of Ireland . Designs based on twisted bars or ribbons giving a spiral became popular, probably influenced by the Continent. "Although over 110 identifiable British [includes Ireland] ribbon torcs are known,

1768-478: The Late Neolithic continued to be constructed or modified, including such sites as Avebury , Stonehenge , Silbury Hill and Must Farm . That has been described as a time "when elaborate ceremonial practices emerged among some communities of subsistence agriculturalists of western Europe". There is no clear consensus on the date for the beginning of the Bronze Age in Great Britain and Ireland. Some sources give

1820-436: The Neolithic era, a large chambered cairn or long barrow was used to house the dead. The 'Early Bronze Age' saw people buried in individual barrows , also commonly known and marked on modern British Ordnance Survey maps as tumuli, or sometimes in cists covered with cairns . They were often buried with a beaker alongside the body. However, even though customs changed, barrows and burial mounds continued to be used during

1872-433: The ancestry of subsequent Iron Age people in that area, but not in northern Britain. The "evidence suggests that, rather than a violent invasion or a single migratory event, the genetic structure of the population changed through sustained contacts between Britain and mainland Europe over several centuries, such as the movement of traders, intermarriage, and small scale movements of family groups". The authors describe this as

1924-547: The archaeological record. According to John T. Koch and others, the Celtic languages developed during the Late Bronze Age period in an intensely-trading-networked culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age , which included Britain, Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal, but that stands in contrast to the more generally-accepted view that the Celtic languages developed earlier than that, with some cultural practices developing in

1976-430: The dating of these simple, flexible ornaments is elusive", perhaps indicating "a long-lived preference for ribbon torcs, which continued for over 1,000 years", into the Iron Age. In Bronze Age Britain, gold objects were prestigious items, and archaeologists believe that those who owned them, or were buried with them, had a high status in society. Archaeologist George Eogan noted that gold reflected "ostentation in society,

2028-427: The earlier Neolithic people and cultural change was significant. Many of the early henge sites seem to have been adopted by the newcomers. Furthermore, a fundamentally different approach to burying the dead began. In contrast to the Neolithic practice of communal burials, the Bronze Age society undergoes an apparent shift towards focusing on to the individual, rather on the ancestors as a collective. For example, in

2080-485: The elaborately decorated Knaresborough Ring. Other find are smaller ornaments that were perhaps worn in the ear, nose or hair, or on clothing as brooches, and a range of thin disc or plaques probably sewn to clothing or worn in the hair. The ends of objects that are essentially bars bent into a round shape often thicken before ending in a flat or concave face, as for example in the Milton Keynes Hoard . The thickening

2132-735: The important Shropshire bulla , found in 2018. Antiquarian interest in the gold artefacts of prehistory emerged in the British Isles during the Early Modern period . In 1696, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford , southern England obtained the Ballyshannon Disk , the first such artefact of its type in their collection, although in ensuing centuries they would gain a number of other items to accompany it. The British Museum in London would follow suit almost

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2184-481: The island. Bronze Age Ireland followed a similar, yet distinct course. The Early Bronze Age in the British Isles was marked by the adoption of what archaeologists call the " Beaker culture ", which had arrived from continental Europe. Eogan noted that the "evidence from archaeology is that Beaker-using communities were the earliest metallurgists in Britain and Ireland", with their produce including "copper artefacts such as tanged daggers but also gold objects as well as

2236-431: The later phases of Stonehenge . Silbury Hill was also built in the early Beaker period. Movement of continental Europeans brought new people to the islands from the continent. Recent tooth enamel isotope research on bodies found in early Bronze Age graves around Stonehenge indicates that at least some of the new arrivals came from the area of modern Switzerland . The Beaker culture displayed different behaviours from

2288-461: The many arrowheads buried with him. The grave contained more artefacts than any other early British Bronze Age burial, including the earliest known gold objects ever found in England. It was the first evidence of a very high status and wealth expressed in a burial from that time. Previously, Bronze Age society had been assumed not to have been particularly hierarchical. The calibrated radiocarbon dates for his grave, and dating of Stonehenge, suggest

2340-435: The most ostentatious wide flat collars or gorgets with ribbed decoration following the shape of the piece, and round discs at the side. The Mold Cape is unique among survivals, but fits in with the trend to massive pieces emphasizing the neck and chest. It was clearly not for prolonged wear, as the wearer could not raise their arms. In Ireland, lunulae were probably replaced as neck ornaments firstly by gold torcs , found from

2392-634: The second half of the 'Middle Bronze Age' (c. 1400–1100 BC) to exploit the wetter conditions. Cornwall was a major source of tin for much of western Europe and copper was extracted from sites such as the Great Orme mine in Northern Wales . Social groups appear to have been tribal, but growing complexity and hierarchies became apparent. There is evidence of a relatively large-scale disruption of cultural patterns (see Late Bronze Age collapse ), which some scholars think may indicate an invasion (or at least

2444-437: The second wrist-guard was a shale belt ring and a pair of gold hair ornaments, the oldest gold objects known from England. The anatomy of the Archer has been well documented, with several unusual features including os acromiale whereby the acromion at the tip of the scapula was not fused as is usual, spina bifida occulta ('hidden' spina bifida ) and a missing left patella . Research using oxygen isotope analysis in

2496-442: The study. Later, a successful sample was taken from the Archer and analysed. It appears that both the Archer and the Companion in the male line (Y-chromosome) had Steppe ancestry , the Archer being classified as R1b1a1b1a1a ( haplogroup R-L151 ) and the Companion as R1b1a1b1a1a2c1 ( haplogroup R-L21 ). The two men were not related in the 1st or 2nd degree, although a more distant relationship, such as great-grandfather / great-grandson,

2548-466: The time of the stones' erection, but given the lavish nature of the grave his mourners clearly considered him important enough to be buried near to (if not in the immediate area of) Stonehenge. Tim Darvill regards the skeleton as possibly that of a pilgrim visiting Stonehenge to draw on the 'healing properties' of the bluestones. His grave is of particular importance because of its connections with Continental Europe and early copper smelting technology. He

2600-675: The use of gold for embellishment." Bronze Age goldwork is marked by an elegant simplicity of design and fine execution, with decoration usually restricted to relatively simple geometric patterns such as parallel lines, chevron, zig-zag and circular patterns, often extremely small and perfectly executed, especially in Ireland, as can be seen by enlarging the lunula and Irish bracelet illustrated. The objects are nearly all pieces of jewellery, and include clothes-fasteners (somewhat like large one-piece cuff-links ), torcs , bracelets , gold lunulae . A number of gold finger rings have been recorded, including

2652-580: Was a population in Britain that for the first time had ancestry and skin and eye pigmentation similar to Britons today". Several regions of origin have been postulated for the Beaker culture , notably the Iberian Peninsula, the Netherlands and Central Europe. Part of the Beaker culture brought the skill of refining metal to Great Britain. At first, they made items from copper , but from around 2150 BC , smiths had discovered how to make bronze , which

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2704-499: Was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the period of Iron Age Britain . Being categorised as the Bronze Age , it was marked by the use of copper and then bronze by the prehistoric Britons, who used such metals to fashion tools. Great Britain in the Bronze Age also saw the widespread adoption of agriculture . During the British Bronze Age, large megalithic monuments similar to those from

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