Plant fiber ties found in Bronze Age hoard

The excavation and analysis of a Bronze Age hoard discovered in Rosemarkie, a coastal town near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, has revealed rare organic plant remains entwined among the bronze bracelets and necklaces. The hoard dates to around 1000 B.C.

The hoard was discovered during a preventative archaeology excavation that took place at the site of a future housing development between August 2020 and July 2021. The excavation revealed remains of a Bronze Age settlement with six roundhouses, a timber palisade fence, drying kilns, plough marks from agricultural work, a cist grave and, close to one of the postholes from a roundhouse, a small circular pit containing a hoard of bronze objects. They were likely originally enclosed in a woven basket or bag that was buried whole.

The container has decomposed and there are no visible remnants of it, but hoard was removed in a soil block to preserve any organic remains and trace material of the original context. The hoard is now being excavated in laboratory conditions and archaeologists have so far recovered one complete neck ring, one partial neck ring, six penannular bracelets and one cup-ended penannular bracelet.

Fibrous plant cords were found tying some of the bangles together. Archaeologists believe they survived because of the anti-microbial effect of the copper in the bronze. The corrosion products of the copper adhered to the cords and prevented decay.

“The recovery of the artefacts was successfully carried out under the controlled conditions necessary to preserve these highly significant objects, particularly the very delicate organic cords that tether some of the objects together,” said Rachel Buckley, who led the laboratory excavation. “Where bracelets were held together with organic material, these were recovered as a group to allow further detailed study. While there are other examples of hoards where it has been postulated that items were bound together due to their positioning, the vegetation in the Rosemarkie hoard has survived for approximately 3000 years, proving that these artefacts were held together.” […]

“That the hoard was buried under a single homogenous fill within a shallow pit with little extra room for anything other than what was found within, indicates that this was no accidental loss,” said Iraia Arabaolaza, who is managing GUARD Archaeology’s analyses. “It would seem that the shallow pit was dug to the required length and depth to accommodate the items, before then being quickly backfilled. It may be that it was intended as temporary storage with the intention of recovering the hoard at some stage. The evidence from the surrounding settlement may reveal whether it was not just the hoard that was abandoned but the settlement as well.”