Gold working in the Bronze Age British Isles

In this period, communities in Britain and Ireland first learned how to work metal, leading to the widespread creation of not only gold but also copper and bronze items as well.

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.

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.

[5] From analysing the designs of the earliest gold artefacts in Britain, Eogan noted that they "form a homogeneous group" which, when "taken in conjunction with other metal types demonstrate that a new technology was introduced.

[8] 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.

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.

[13] The British Museum in London would follow suit almost a century later, gaining its first Bronze Age gold artefact, a disk from Kirk Andrews on the Isle of Man, in 1782.

[14] In 1980, Joan J. Taylor published the first comprehensive study of the available evidence, entitled Bronze Age Goldwork of the British Isles.

[15] 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 the Bronze Age, which was brought out through the U.K.-based Oxbow Books.

A gold lunula , a type of ornament produced in the early Bronze Age British Isles, especially Ireland. This example was found in Blessington , eastern Ireland. British Museum
Rillaton Cup , one of two similar cups found in Britain. British Museum
The extent of the "Beaker Package" across Europe, which was accompanied by the use of Beaker pottery, metal and specialised burials.
The Mold Cape is a unique survival from North Wales. British Museum
The Lambourn Hoard, from Lambourn , Berkshire , with three bracelets and two folded twisted torcs ( West Berkshire Museum ).
Irish bracelet, c. 950 – c. 800 BC , using a shape that is varied across a range of sizes and functions.
Bracelets from the Milton Keynes Hoard (British Museum).
The Burton Hoard, from Burton, Wrexham . The gold items are a folded torc, a twisted-wire bracelet, a necklace pendant, 4 beads and 3 rings ( National Museum Wales ).