British Museum acquires 3,000-year-old Shropshire sun pendant

March 5, 2020

The British Museum has acquired a shimmering 3,000-year-old gold sun pendant heralded as one of the most important bronze age finds of the last century.

The astonishingly well-preserved pendant, or bulla, was discovered by a metal detector enthusiast in Shropshire in 2018. Measuring 3.6cm by 4.7cm, is the second one ever found in Britain.

Wilkin said it could easily pass as a glorious example of art deco jewellery from the 1930s. In reality it was made by someone who was clearly skilled in their craft around 1,000-800BC. “The skill and care with which it has been put together is remarkable,” he said.

It comes from a period that is often misunderstood, associated with people living in huts or caves. Wilkin said that was understandable. “This is a subject, a period, that hasn’t been taught in school curriculums until very recently … I didn’t learn about it at school.”

The pendant is decorated with semi-circles and geometric motifs, and on one side is a stylised solar design, reflecting the importance of the sun and its path across the sky to bronze age farmers.

The pendant was found in a landscape that would have been boggy and wet during the bronze age. Curators think it would have been intentionally cast into the water as an offering, much as people today throw coins into fountains.

5457.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=forma