The Banc Ty'nddôl sun-disc is a small, decorated,

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

ornament discovered at

Cwmystwyth Cwmystwyth (also Cwm Ystwyth, ; en, "valley of the River Ystwyth") is a village in Ceredigion, Wales near Devil's Bridge, and Pont-rhyd-y-groes. The Ordnance Survey calculates Cwmystwyth to be the centre point of Wales (; ). History Disc ...

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It most likely was part of a funerary garment and is more than 4,000 years old, which makes it the earliest gold artifact found in Wales. It was discovered on 16 October 2002 by a team of

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

s who were investigating the site of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a c ...

hearth A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by at least a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a lo ...

s below the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

mine on Copa Hill.Ceredigion, A Wealth of History

History

The area around Cwmystwyth, has been mined for lead and copper for more than 4,000 years, almost since the beginning of metalworking in Britain.sun-disc – one of Wales"s earliest gold objects
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Site excavation

Excavation now has shown that these

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

sites date to the

(first century AD) and

Early Medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

(ninth to twelfth century AD) periods, but one of the most important finds of the excavation was the gold disc about the size of a milk-bottle top, which pre-dated these discoveries by more than 2,000 years.

At the time of its discovery, it seemed uncertain as to whether the gold object had ever been intentionally deposited; no earlier archaeological features were at that time identified, whilst its shallow find-spot suggested that it had been disturbed and re-deposited some distance downslope from its original burial context. However, the object was at that time identified and reported to HM Coroner for Ceredigion as a Treasure find on 30 October 2002, whilst further study of the find continued, and a follow-up investigation of the find spot was planned. Given concerns over the possibility of further artefacts remaining within the ground by virtue of association with the disc, also potential treasure, re-excavation of the site took place in March 2003, with funding from the National Museums and Galleries of Wales. Samples of soil containing degraded bone fragments were collected for dating along with charcoal from in and around the grave. Insufficient
collagen Collagen () is the main structural protein in the extracellular matrix found in the body's various connective tissues. As the main component of connective tissue, it is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up from 25% to 35% of the whol ...
survived to provide any sort of reliable date from the bone, whilst the three samples of charcoal recovered from the grave fill proved to be intrusive; one suggesting Mesolithic activity associated with the pre-burial land surface (OxA-12983: 8850 ± 40 210–7760 CalBC, another a Late Roman date for the ground surface covering the edge of the grave (OxA-12955: 1675 ± 28 20–430 Cal AD, whilst the third consisted of a single piece of oak charcoal derived from the Early Medieval smelting horizon above (OxA-12956: 1264 ± 27 70–840 Cal AD. Whilst not providing us with any clear answer, these results do at least support the possibility of a prehistoric burial.

Upon further investigation it was determined that the absence of identifiable skeletal remains and of only a thin film with insufficient collagen, precluded accurate

Carbon-14 Carbon-14, C-14, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and co ...

(C14) dating.Archaeology in Wales

Detailed description

The disc is 38.9mm in diameter, with a weight of 2.51g, made of a very pure gold that is composed of between 93% and 94% gold, 6% and 7%

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

and a negligible amount of copper. It is decorated with concentric line and dot circles and pierced by two central holes, apparently for attachment. The design was determined to belong to the Primary

Bell Beaker The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the very beginning of the European Bronze Age. Arising from ar ...

Goldwork Tradition.Antiquity Vol 78 No 302 December
Even though the exact source for the metal cannot be established, the composition appears consistent with that for Irish, Scottish, and Welsh

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...

gold. The disc most likely was made for a funerary garment and possibly, to symbolize the life-giving power of the sun. Further investigation of the discovery site revealed skeletal remains that once were covered over by a mound of stones, known as a

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehi ...

. The grave was located within a crescent of boulders and was oriented to look down the valley to the west—a poignant resting place for the person wearing one of Wales's first metal discs derived from native gold. Similar artifacts have been found in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, The Isle of Man, and

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

. Most known examples of this class of 'sun-disc' have been found in Ireland (21), with smaller numbers from Scotland (6), England (5), and similar examples from France. This is the first example to be found in Wales and thought to be the earliest gold artifact from Wales, probably belonging to the slightly later established Beaker phase (c. 2000 BC). The Banc Ty'nddôl disc most closely resembles an example from Ireland that remains without provenance, having two-four linear circles in repoussé and two central perforations. A similar style with repoussé dots is to be found in an example from

Kirk Andreas Andreas ( or ; gv, Skeerey Andreas) is one of the seventeen parishes of the Isle of Man. It is located in the north of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) in the sheading of Ayre. The main settlement in the parish in th ...

in The Isle of Man. In Brittany, gold discs with similar dot and linear decoration have been discovered in

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

tombs and they also appear to be associated with early Beaker (

Chalcolithic The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "Rock (geology), stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin ''wikt:aeneus, aeneus'' "of copper"), is an list of archaeologi ...

) abandonment deposits. In Britain, three examples have been found associated with two Beaker burials (one as a pair, and one as a single find) at Mere and Farleigh Wick in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. The similarities in style and decorative technique between the Banc Ty'nddôl disc and 'basket earrings' or gold hair tress ornaments associated with rich Beaker burials is striking. Examples from Kirkhaugh,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

had been tooled similarly on the surface as a means of enhancing the repoussé lines applied to the back, a detail precisely matched on the Banc Ty'nddôl disc. The Kirkhaugh basket earring and other items from similar burial sites can all be dated to the period between 2500–1900 BC.

Current status

The disc was declared a treasure in December 2003 and has since been acquired by the

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, branded as simply Amgueddfa Cymru (formerly the National Museums and Galleries of Wales and legally National Museum of Wales), is a Welsh Government sponsored body that comprises seven museums in Wales: * ...

Gallery

Image:Banc_Ty'nddôl_sun-disc-cropped.JPG, The disc being worn showing possible means of attachment to tunic or other garment. Image:Graig_y_Ddalfa_at_Cwmystwyth_lead_mines-by-Rudi-Winter.jpg,

Cwmystwyth mines Cwmystwyth mines are located in Cwmystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales and exploited a part of the Central Wales Orefield. Mining heritage Cwm Ystwyth is considered the most important non-ferrous metal mining site in Wales providing a premier example ...

, located near the excavation site.

Archaeologists

*Simon Timberlake: Excavations Director, Early Mines Research Group, Cambridge CB5 8ST, UK. *Adam Gwilt: Later Prehistorian, Department of Archaeology, National Museum & Gallery of Wales, CF10 3NP, UK. *Mary Davis: Archaeological Conservator, National Museum & Gallery of Wales, Cardiff CF10 3NP, UK.

Footnotes

References

* * * Timberlake, S. 2002 a Medieval lead smelting boles near Penguelan, Cwmystwyth, Archaeology in Wales 42: 45–59 *—2002 b Cwmystwyth, Banc Ty'nddôl: gold disc, AW 42, 97–98 Timberlake, S. 2003 Excavations on Copa Hill, Cwmystwyth (1986–1999); An Early Bronze Age copper mine within the uplands of Central Wales. BAR British Series 348 Oxford: Archaeopress. * * Banc Ty'nddôl, Cwmystwyth' in Archaeology in Wales* 44 *(2004) pp. 137–139

External links

Early Mines Research Group

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banc Ty'nddol sun-disc History of Ceredigion Archaeology of Wales Archaeological sites in Ceredigion Art discs and ovals Gold objects 2002 archaeological discoveries Welsh art Bronze Age art Treasure troves of Bronze Age Britain