Gold in Britain's auriferous regions, 2450-800 BC: towards a coherent Research Framework and Strategy

英国含金地区的黄金，公元前 2450-800 年：走向一致的研究框架和战略

• 批准号: AH/R013063/1
• 负责人: Alison Sheridan
• 金额: $ 4.29万
• 依托单位: National Museums Scotland
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2018 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FR013063%2F1
• 关键词: Gold; Britain; auriferous; regions; 2450

We aim to understand better the pre-Iron Age gold artefacts that have been found in Britain's auriferous (gold-bearing) regions - Scotland, Wales and parts of western England. These include some of Britain's best-known gold objects, such as the 720-gramme 'cape' found at Mold, north-east Wales. Despite decades of study and perennial public fascination in such objects, many questions still remain: was local or non-local gold used to make them (or a mixture of gold from different sources)? Where, how and why were they made? How was the production of gold objects organised? How was the know-how for extracting and working gold passed on? What was gold's significance, meaning and value to the people who used it? Such questions are important because gold offers us a way of understanding the social and economic dynamics of Copper Age and Bronze Age societies, at regional, national and international scales. Gold has been used as a symbol of power ever since its use, and the know-how to extract and work it, were introduced to Britain by Continental immigrants around 2450 BC. Gold objects will have played a prominent role in interactions between elites. As a rare, precious material that can catch the sun's rays and dazzle the observer, it was probably invested with potent symbolism. We have only just begun to appreciate the nuances of its use and significance in prehistoric Britain. But there are exciting developments: master goldworker Brian Clarke is currently completing a replica of the Mold 'cape', his work yielding new insights into the tools, techniques and expertise of the Bronze Age goldworker; and Dr Chris Standish's recent lead isotope analysis of Irish and some Scottish Early Bronze Age gold artefacts has overturned long-held views by showing they were made using gold from Cornwall or Devon, rather than Ireland.Developing our understanding further requires an approach that crosses disciplinary and geographical boundaries. So we propose to bring together, for the first time, many of the foremost researchers on prehistoric gold in Europe - archaeologists, geologists, geochemists, archaeometallurgists and practising goldworkers - into a Research Network, along with early career researchers and postgraduates. They will be tasked with taking stock of what we do and do not know about gold as a raw material and as finished artefacts in Britain's auriferous regions, c 2450-800 BC, setting this within a broader national and international context; defining the key outstanding research questions; and formulating a coherent, effective research strategy to tackle those questions. They will do so through a series of three symposia, held in Edinburgh, Cardiff and (to underline the strong Irish links that did exist during this period) Dublin. The resulting Research Framework and Strategy will be disseminated as an on-line, open access resource on the National Museums' Scotland website. Why focus on Britain's auriferous regions? Because: i) here is where we have the best chance of detecting the use of local vs. non-local gold in the case of objects that have not been repeatedly recycled or made from mixed-source gold; and ii) the task is manageable within the project timescale. But the Network's perspective and value will extend far further: it will set new standards for prehistoric gold research and lay the foundations for a major international research project.The Network's activities will be outward-facing, benefiting a wide range of stakeholders. There will be public lectures and podcasts by Network members and,after the Dublin symposium, a practical demonstration of Bronze Age-style metalworking by Brian Clarke, filmed for the Network's web pages. Information on and images of individual gold objects from the study area will be posted on the web pages, and social media will track developments and allow public feedback. There will be academic and popular publications and conference presentations, including at the 2019 EAA conference.

我们的目标是更好地了解在英国的含金（含金）地区-苏格兰，威尔士和英格兰西部部分地区发现的前铁器时代的黄金文物。其中包括一些英国最著名的黄金制品，比如在威尔士东北部的莫尔德发现的720克重的“斗篷”。尽管人们对这些物品进行了数十年的研究，公众也对它们长期着迷，但许多问题仍然存在：制造这些物品的是本地黄金还是外地黄金（或者是不同来源的黄金混合物）？它们是在哪里、如何以及为什么被制造出来的？黄金制品的生产是如何组织的？黄金的提取和加工技术是如何传承的？黄金对使用它的人来说有什么意义、意义和价值？这些问题很重要，因为黄金为我们提供了一种在区域、国家和国际范围内了解铜器时代和青铜器时代社会的社会和经济动态的方法。自从公元前2450年左右，大陆移民将黄金的使用以及开采和加工黄金的技术引入英国以来，黄金一直被用作权力的象征。黄金制品在精英之间的互动中发挥了重要作用。作为一种罕见的，珍贵的材料，可以捕捉太阳的光线和眼花缭乱的观察者，它可能是投资与强有力的象征意义。我们才刚刚开始了解它在史前英国的使用和意义的细微差别。但也有令人兴奋的发展：黄金工人大师布赖恩克拉克目前正在完成一个复制品的模具'斗篷'，他的工作产生了新的见解的工具，技术和专业知识的青铜时代的黄金工人;克里斯·斯坦迪什博士最近对爱尔兰和一些苏格兰早期青铜时代黄金制品的铅同位素分析推翻了长期以来的观点，表明它们是用康沃尔郡或德文郡的黄金制成的，而不是爱尔兰。进一步发展我们的理解需要一种跨越学科和地理界限的方法。因此，我们建议首次将欧洲史前黄金研究领域的许多最重要的研究人员--考古学家、地质学家、地球化学家、考古计量学家和从业的黄金工人--与早期职业研究人员和研究生一起沿着，汇集到一个研究网络中。他们的任务是评估我们所做的和不知道的关于黄金作为原材料和作为英国含金地区的成品文物，公元前2450-800年，将其置于更广泛的国家和国际背景下;定义关键的突出研究问题;并制定一个连贯，有效的研究策略来解决这些问题。他们将通过在爱丁堡、卡迪夫和（为了强调这一时期确实存在的牢固的爱尔兰联系）都柏林举行的一系列三个专题讨论会来做到这一点。由此产生的研究框架和战略将在苏格兰国家博物馆网站上作为在线开放资源进行传播。为什么要关注英国的金矿区？因为：i）在没有重复回收或由混合来源黄金制成的物品的情况下，这是我们检测本地与非本地黄金使用情况的最佳机会; ii）在项目时间表内，这项任务是可以管理的。但是，该网络的视角和价值将远远延伸：它将为史前黄金研究制定新的标准，并为一个重大的国际研究项目奠定基础，该网络的活动将面向外部，使广大利益攸关方受益。网络成员将举行公开讲座和播客，在都柏林研讨会之后，布赖恩·克拉克将为网络的网页拍摄一个青铜器式金属加工的实际演示。研究区域的单个黄金物品的信息和图像将发布在网页上，社交媒体将跟踪事态发展并允许公众反馈。将有学术和流行的出版物和会议演示，包括在2019年EAA会议。

项目成果

Precious prehistory

珍贵的史前史

• 发表时间: 2018
• 期刊: Explorer
• 作者: Sheridan, J.A.

Gold in Britain's auriferous regions, 2450-800BC

英国含金地区的黄金，公元前 2450-800 年

• 发表时间: 2020
• 作者: Knight, M G

Understanding gold in prehistoric Scotland

了解史前苏格兰的黄金

• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Archaeology Scotland magazine
• 作者: Sheridan, J A

Gold in prehistoric Scotland

史前苏格兰的黄金

• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: History Scotland
• 作者: Sheridan, J.A.

Archaeological applications of natural gold analyses

天然金分析的考古应用

• DOI: 10.1144/sp516-2021-59
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Geological Society, London, Special Publications
• 作者: Standish C