The Newly Discovered 4500 Year Old Gold Road Across Britain


National Museum of Ireland
 
Bronze Age necklace and discs

Archaeologists discover evidence
of prehistoric gold trade route
Archaeologists have found evidence of an ancient gold trade route between the south-west of the UK and Ireland. A study suggests people were trading gold between the two countries as far back as the early Bronze Age (2500 BC).

Credit: Chris Standish
 Panning for gold in Ireland.
The research, in collaboration with the University of Bristol, used a new technique to measure the chemical composition of some of the earliest gold artefacts in Ireland. Findings show the objects were actually made from imported gold, rather than Irish. Furthermore, this gold is most likely to have come from Cornwall. Lead author Dr Chris Standish says: "This is an unexpected and particularly interesting result as it suggests that Bronze Age gold workers in Ireland were making artefacts out of material sourced from outside of the country, despite the existence of a number of easily-accessible and rich gold deposits found locally.

"It is unlikely that knowledge of how to extract gold didn't exist in Ireland, as we see large scale exploitation of other metals. It is more probable that an 'exotic' origin was cherished as a key property of gold and was an important reason behind why it was imported for production."


Foundation:
The History of England
from Its Earliest Beginnings
to the Tudors

by Peter Ackroyd

Click on image to order
Powell's Books
The researchers used an advanced technique called laser ablation mass spectrometry to sample gold from 50 early Bronze Age artefacts in the collections of the National Museum of Ireland, such as; basket ornaments, discs and lunula (necklaces). They measured isotopes of lead in tiny fragments and made a comparison with the composition of gold deposits found in a variety of locations. After further analysis, the archaeologists concluded that the gold in the objects most likely originates from Cornwall, rather than Ireland -- possibly extracted and traded as part of the tin mining industry.

Dr Standish says: "Perhaps what is most interesting is that during this time, compared to Ireland, there appears to be much less gold circulating in Cornwall and southern Britain. This implies gold was leaving the region because those who found it felt it was of more value to trade it in for other 'desirable' goods -- rather than keep it."

Today, gold is intrinsically linked with economic wealth, is universally exchangeable and underpins currencies and economies across much of the globe. However, gold may not always have had this value -- in some societies, gold was seen to embody supernatural or magical powers, playing a major role in belief systems rather than economic ones. The value and significance placed on gold may have varied from region to region.

Dr Alistair Pike, a co-author from the University of Southampton, adds: "The results of this study are a fascinating finding. They show that there was no universal value of gold, at least until perhaps the first gold coins started to appear nearly two thousand years later. Prehistoric economies were driven by factors more complex than the trade of commodities -- belief systems clearly played a major role."

Related stories:
Other stories of interest:
Story Source: Materials provided by University of Southampton. Christopher D. Standish, Bruno Dhuime, Chris J. Hawkesworth, Alistair W. G. Pike. A Non-local Source of Irish Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Gold. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 2015

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Children's drawings during abuse investigations

Image
Source:  rutherfordcountytn.gov I llustrations by children can be a critical tool in forensic investigations of child abuse. A recent study compared the results when child abuse victims were offered the opportunity to draw during questioning with results when victims were not offered this opportunity. "The act of drawing was not only an empowering experience for these children," said Dr. Katz. "We also found it to be forensically more effective in eliciting richer testimonies in child abuse cases. We had no idea the gap would be so great between those who drew and those who weren't given this option." A chance to express themselves Some 125 alleged child victims of sexual abuse were randomly selected for the field study. The children, aged 5-14, were questioned by nine well-trained forensic interviewers about a single occurrence of alleged sexual abuse. The children were divided into two sets -- a control group, questioned and allowed to rest during t...
Read more

How laughter leads to love.

Image
James Cagney rubs a grapefruit half in the face of Mae Clarke  in the classic flick, Public Enemy (1931), written by Kubec Glasmon and John Bright, adaptation for the screen by Harvey Thew.  Funny? Yes.  A rom-com?  Not really.  Great scene, though. Between romance novels and rom-com movies and television, there is a never ending, ever growing market for romance.  So what leads to romance?  Of everything, it is laughter.  Not at, but with.  So here's how it works:  Boy meets girl.  Boy gets the girl to laugh.  (Add a few tasty comedic or dramatic interludes), and viola, girl catches boy (after boy makes a complete horse's ass of himself,) and the happy couple goes giggling into the sunset.   Formulaic?  Very much so.   Greatly entertaining?  Very much so. Until kids, mortgage and divorce. . . but that's a story for later. Here's a report on laughter in romance, with a link ...
Read more

Workout supplements: An emerging eating disorder in men?

Image
therewontbeanydoves.wordpress.com When developing a fictional character, you may not think about the character using large amounts of over-the-counter dietary supplements.  Especially a man who uses large amounts of workout supplements. While there has been widespread publicity on the dangers of the non-prescribed use of anabolic steroids, not much is said about legal, over-the-counter supplements.  Are there risks?  And if so, what are they?  There are several things the writer should consider. Supplement use is becoming an eating disorder with many men who use them to prepare for and recover from a workout. There is growing evidence of a link between muscle-building supplements and testicular cancer. There is evidence that over-the counter medications and supplements are the most common causes of drug-induced liver failure (a rare event, but still a risk.)  There is even evidence that, “certain popular herbal and dietary supplements can also ...
Read more

We're running out of water - and global warming IS NOT the major cause.

Image
livetoday.online How to sound the alarm about a possible future crisis without being a Jeremiah?  Stand up and rant and rave and most people tune you out. Future problems are something that the writers of fiction and non-fiction can address without being totally off-putting.  We all know that, so the trick for a working writer is to stay current on possible issues and weave these possibilities into your stories.  Besides, some of these potential crises offer some pretty cool possibilities. What's interesting in this study is that global warming isn't blamed, though it certainly is playing a part.  For example, rather than having snow in the mountains of California, they're getting rain.  Snow provides water through the dry season; rain runs off into the ocean creating a water shortage despite the total precipitation level remaining constant. A link to the full study is found in the story source. *  *  *  *  * Affordable wate...
Read more

Character Development: Simpler, Four-part Personality Model Introduced

Image
Credit: Northwestern University   The four newly determined personality types are based on five widely-recognized character traits. While the authors suggest that this study will be of most interest to hiring managers and mental health professionals, I feel it will be a major help to authors and screenwriters.  A four personality type model makes it easier to develop consistent characters, sort of a checklist of how people's personalities fall into groups. Here's the report: *  *  *  *  * Scientists determine four personality types based on new data Comprehensive data analysis dispels established paradigms in psychology Researchers have sifted through data from more than 1.5 million questionnaire respondents and found at least four distinct clusters of personality types exist: average, reserved, self-centered and role model. They are based on the five widely accepted basic personality traits: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agre...
Read more