814 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MAY 14, 1928.

BRONZE'AGE GOLD ORNAMENTS FOUN ARRADN I WIGTOWND NAN - SHIRE, WITH SUGGESTIONS AS TO THEIR METHOD OP USE. BY LUDOVIC M'L. MANN, P.S.A.ScoT. About 25th February 1921, Mr Finlay Kerr, while searching for building-stones for a new house at his mother's farm of , Kilmory Parishe north-westh n o , t coas f p somArrano tu g e du slab, s

ROCKY GROUND WITH NATURAL WOOD

BURIAL GROUND ~——J^DlNARY SPRING TIDLS

X H 5 Hi& o

uj a.3 ORDnNARY__££FUNG TIDE.S

KILBRANNA^4 50UND

IOO O IOO 2OO 3OO 1OO 5OO 600 FE.E.T

Fig. 1. Map showing Sites of Finds. of the native schistoze rock which were lying roughly and deeply set togethe flae th t n stretci re 25-foo th f ho t raised beach. Som fee2 e t unde e surfacth r e picke h ea gol p du d bracelet-like object in perfect condition, weighing 3-Q3Q oz. It was kept in the farmhous somr efo e weeks thed ,an nAngu r senM o t ts Stewart, Jeweller, Buchanan Street, Glasgow showeo severao wh ,t t di l persons. . BrotchieF M . r C Stewart . r CharleT M , r M . ,Whitelaw E s d an , myselfe hop th f bein o en i , g abl o complett e a e recorcir th -f o d cumstance o securt d ean s associated objects, wen o Whitefarlandt t . The place of the find (A in fig. 1) is 65 yards south of the steading GOLD ORNAMENTS FOUN ARRAN DI WIGTOWNSHIRED NAN 5 31 . sea-cliffd anol d e t neatha a th fooe , f th tro t poin smala t l declivity. For years the plough has been worked round the spot without disturbin t gi muc h becaus e outcroppinth g f du o ee slabs e th W f .o g ove riddled e sitth an re e soildth , encountering many rock fragments water-rolled an d stones embedde e soith l n washei d p to d e dowth n no of the old raised-beach gravel. No definitely built structure was noticedo absoluteln d an , y clear evidence coul e obtaineb d d thae th t place had either been a tomb or a dwelling. e investigationth f o e y firsOth nda t I sturne withip w u dfe a n inches of the place where the first object had been discovered a very fine, hollow, penannular rin f golo g f triangulao d r section, alsn i o perfect condition, weighing '255 oz. An artificially cup-marked rocs note yard7 wa k 11 d foo 1 s t south e discovere placth oth fee6 ff o ed t yan north-eas a bench-mark f o t , the altitude of which is indicated in the Ordnance Survey chart as 25-3 feet (B in fig. 1). There were also found abou o dozetw t n fragment f pottero s y characteristic of a late phase of the Bronze Period, and belonging to two vessels each of a type used for domestic as well as sepulchral purposes. Such pots have been occasionally found associated wit r containino h g objects of gold. The shards discovered belong to hand-made vessels, but only a few details can be made out because of the small number and size of the fragments e largeTh .r vesse s biscuit-colourei l e outed th an n r o d black on the inner surface. One fragment shows that its wall at place s beeha s n £ inc f coarso h s thicki e t I . texture, and the paste has been mixed with small pounded piece f stono s e evidentlo t y t crackinprevenpo e th tg durin e procesth g s of firing. The outer surface of the pot has been coated with a thin layer of fine clay in a finishing process before firing. On a fragment being placed in hot water this skin peeled off cleanly. The smaller vessel has been of dark colour, and may have been decorated by slight horizontal flutings. It has had a plain rounded rim Fig. 2. Penannular Gold Orna- . ment from Arran. (f) The smaller of the Arran rings (fig. £) be- long well-recognisea o st d clas f smallso , hollow, penannular ornaments of triangular section, made of three thin plates of gold fixed together without solderin d merelan g y overlappinb y e edge th d gclosin an s g them tigh hammeringy b t e plate Th e skilfull. ar s y joine turniny db g 316 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MAY 14, 1923.

plate e edgeon eth f o ove e otherr th e thainnee edgef th th o , t t ra s circumference being held apart by another plate (in the Arran specimen •6 inch wide) with V-shaped ends, which thus wall-i e holloe nth th f wo ring. The relic is i'65 inch in diameter externally and •? inch internally. There are eleven of these objects in the Irish National Museum — not one wit detaileha d histor s discoverit f yo r associateo y d relics. Five e completear t onlbu , yperfec n i thre e ar et condition weighte Th . f o s the five vary from '254 oz. to '783 oz. Lord Inchiquin has two Irish specimens weighin average sevee Th th '30 d . gf en9an o oz '31 . know5oz n complete Irish specimens is '446 oz. Though evidence in support is not forthcoming, they have been usually considered to be ear-rings. Attachment to the ear would be difficult, specimeo n d an n show sucw ho sh fixing could have been made. That they were hair ornament s mori s e probable n earlI . y historic times n Irelani d gold objects wer e hair th use ,n i daccordin o Irischet g Texte (iii. p. 550), but their nature is obscure. The historically recorded example havy sma e bee f muco n h later type, like objectth e f golo s d stil Dutce lth haie wory th hb r n peasantryni . These rare, little, penannular, prehistoric objects under review were probably coiffure bands s wel A s beina l. g concentrically fluted, they e sometimear s decorated wit a hban f incisedo d diagonal liner o s

row f inciseo s d dots along eithe e brear th sid f k o ee e ring i1 th nTh . Arran specime s plaini n . Small penannular objects somewhat similar, usually porphyryred of , have been foun haidas r ornament Egyptiason n mummies, locks of hair apparently having been pressed through the e sidtightlbread th ean n ki y fillin ringe th g . Such ring f Britiso s d Irishan h type occur onl n golyi d hav dan e not been found on the Continent. Being of particularly fine workman- ship, they demonstrate better than almos othey an t r kin f goldo d relic hige th h degre f skileo l attaine Britise th Irisd y db han h goldsmithf so the Bronze Age. The Arran specimen is the third found in the west of and the eighth in the whole of Scotland, as against fifteen recorded from Ireland, three fro e nortmth f Englandho , and e fro e norton .m th f ho Wales. -Their home, therefore, was probably Scotland or Ireland. Fig . Penannula.3 . . . r • <• i 10 • i Golol . dOrnamen A perfec d t beautifuan t l example found without ucen roe .m d. ) ,jefini^e}y associated relic n i Wigtownshires , neae th r boundary betwee e parisheth n f Luco d sStoneykir an e d abouan k t i mile fro high-watee mth r mar ks perhap i (fig, 3) .smalles e th s t known, weighing onls externaIt y . '.07oz 0 l diamete s '7i r5 inch s thicknesit , s e diamete'2th inch d an f ,orific o r e '4 s ornamenteinchi t I . eithen do r GOLD ORNAMENTS FOUND IN ARRAN AND WIGTOWNSHIRE. 317 exterior surface with eight concentric flutings workee hanth y db n do gold platgravina y eb g tool. The remaining Scottish examples, which are quite plain, are all preserved in the National Museum. One of '550 oz. was found in 1856 wes e mosa th f Scotland n to i n si precise Th . e t localitdiscloseno s ywa d owing to a mistaken fear of the ancient law of treasure trove. It was hoarpara f to whicf do h there surviv ea pai f plaino r , solid, penannular gold armlets, slightly e side oval e endd on opeth , an t s, a nthickene d and flattened into button-like extremities. The three objects from this

Fig . Penannula.4 r Gold Ornament with cup-shaped ends from Arran. (£.)

hoard were bought by a jeweller in Dumbarton, who sold them to Mr Peter Denny, from whom they passeMuseume th o dt . Another, which, e othersth lik l s triangulaal ei , sectionn i r s discoveredwa , , somewhat crushed, in 1811 at the digging of a gravel pit at Gogar House, Corstorphine same t werth epi n I e. foun bronzda e sword with scabbard same th f e o period bronzp a ti d ,an e brooch undoubtedl mucf yo h later times. Therevidenco n s i e e thae last-mentioneth t d relis founwa c d directly associated with the others. Four were found at Balmashanner, Forfarshire, with three other small penannular gold ornaments possessing bronze cores socketea , d axe, twelve penannular armlets ringsn ,te d an , parbowlbronzef a o f necklac a l o t d al , an , thirty-onf eo e bead f ambeo s r f rouno d flattenet je dan foud f an o r d speroidal form. The larger object from Arran (fig. 4) has been made by bending into oval shape a solid gold rod, somewhat thickened in the middle of its 8 31 PROCEEDING E SOCIETY, 192314 TH .F Y O S MA ,

length, and by bringing the ends nearly together. To either end has been most skilfully melter sweateo n do a dcaly r trumpet-shapeo x d piece e Arra. th Thougn no speciment hno , engraved lines sometimes occur insid d outsidan e e calyx th emord an , e rarel e necyth k joining the calyx and bar are likewise decorated, in some cases only on the r invariablouteba e e e neckcentrrth th Th sid f f y.o o e remains plain, as- if when in use that part alone was not seen. This type of objec seldos ha t over-aln ma l spread greater than 3'5 inches, whice th s hi measurement of the Arran specimen. Its bar has a maximum thickness of '3 inch. The diameter of one of the expanded terminals is l-35 inches e othe th d tha f an ro t 1'3 inches e crosTh s. external diametee th f o r ring is 2'93 inches, and the distance between the extreme edges of the cup-shaped terminals 3'5 inches. f Thigolo sdr relicba ben a ,t intn ovaa o l with open ends expanded like trumpets, belongs to a class of ornament often erroneously styled "fibulse," whic s repeatedlhha y turne Britain i p du n Irelandand " fibulaThe . " doeseenot s m capabl beinof e g fitteto d a wrist, arm r anklo , e eve f smalo n woro ls sizet f i woulnI . e b d extremely inconvenient. - It is generally thought that the object was some kind of brooch or dress-fastener, but no pin has been found in association cleas i t I r . thaendse th tvero s , y conspicuous, were meant seee b no t whe n usei e objec s th n, becauswa t e only that pard an t s neighbourhooit decoratede dar . The suggestions as to these objects having been ring-money—some inquirers conjectur e ringth e s were use s mediuma d f exchangeo s — bracelets, dress-fasteners r broocheo , se rule havb t afte e ou o dt eth r known specimen e clas e th compare f ar s o s criticalld dan y studied. The largest specime f sucno h " fibulse s foun wa "181n i d Countn 9i y Roscommon a dept fee5 t n gravela i f ,t ho , from which fifteen layers oe extraordinarf th d beetur s ha fn ha cutt I . y over-all spreaf o d 10'75 inches holloe Th . w conical ends each measure 4'75 inches across, separated by a space of T375 inches. Its interior spread is normal. An examination of the numerous specimens discloses that no matter •what be the size of the expanded terminals or the thickness of the connecting loop ovae ,th l enclosed spac practicalls ei y constant, averaging a little less than 2 by 2'5 inches—a capacity clearly calculated to hold e wholth e heade th s hai wora f ,o r n naturall n youthi y , gathered together at the nape of the neck. The object if thus used would have s dilateit d terminals placed facing upward outwardsd san coiffura s A . e ban t i was.usefud s wel a s lornamental a l e plaiteTh . d hair would perhap dresse. sbe catagoa n di n knot roun e bardth . Some modert nbu very rarely used combs with wings or expande dadjustedo s end e ar s . GOLD ORNAMENTS FOUND IN ARRAN AND WIGTOWNSHIRE. 319 Three Bronz Irise eAg h specimens show ornamental engraved work r nearesterminale ba th e e parto ot th trestricted th n f o san s e th o dt oute e bar—r th sid f o ea feature which indicates that whe objece nth t t hiddeno s t tha na e whol wa th tr t e poinwouli eba us s (a f n tdi i s wa it had been employed for gripping the edges of a garment of cloth or skin) t merelbu , s centralyit , sectio d innean n r face s woula , d happen were locks of hair enclosed by the loop. They have been found in Ireland on two occasions associated with set f fairlo s y large ovoi d discoian d d amber bead f gradeo s d sizes; also with bronze sockete d loopean d d axe-heads a bronz, r coppeo e r penannular ring, and with plain complete bronze rings suitable for armlets specimeno Tw . s were foun n Juni d e 1919 fee1 1 , t undee th r surface of a bog in County Cavan, with two penannular bracelets of gold with button-like extremities, and, most importan f allo t , wita h circular disc of thin gold lavishly decorated. From other discoverie s knowi t i s n that suc a dishs almos ha c t certainly bee e coverinth n a bronz f o g e disc whic s employedwa h s a , r Moono n , Su mounte a symboe th f o ld vertically upo a nminiatur e hors carriagd ean f bronzeeo . The associated relics found in Scotland and England are similar, and confir e testimonmth y affordee Iristh hy b drecords e weightTh . f o s " fibulse " with hollow cup-ends, or, as I think they should now be more correctly called, coiffur ee large th ring f o rs type, range from about 2'206 ozs. to 16-858 ozs. The two types of gold objects just found in Arran belong to the later stage of the Bronze Age, about 900 years B.C., with a possible range of 200 years on either side of that date. The gold objects found in Arran have, so far as known, been treasures hidden for subsequent recovery. They have not been connected with graves, except a fragment of a fluted fillet found in the large cairn at , and perhaps a penannular ring, now lost, said doubtfully havo t e been foun cisa t Souta n tdi h Kascadale, Largie Beag, . What seem havo t s e bee ornamenn na t very liklargee eth r recently discovered Arran specime aptls ni y describe a "piec s e da f golth eo n di forhandla f myeara drawer,s founo w f fe ewa o sa d d -befor"an e 1845 in Arran whe nfenca e roun gardeda beins nwa solga s madeo dt wa t I . Glasgow jeweller, who melted it. This was an interesting discovery, as the record states that some non-golden matter was attached to the inside e trumpet-shapeoth f d extremities s this beeA ha s. n notice othen di r cases iri Scotland—in Isla Ayrshire—id yan possibls i t e that sometimee sth hollow cones contained a substance, perhaps amber or vitreous material, introduced to enhance the decorative effect. At Ormidale, , 320 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH 14F Y O S, MA 1923, . were found about 1864 four penannular armlet-like objects with slightly expanded extremities, weighing 1'OOS oz., '820 oz., '739 oz., and '437 oz. A bronz witn pi eh a cup-shape d head foun t Poina d f Sleato t , Skye, with a sword, socketed spear-heads a curve d an d, socketed f bladeo l al , bronze y als s ocavitma , it hav d yeha furnished with some non-metallic, ornamental filling. Shortly before February 1865, in Arran were found together six rings of gold, each formed of several wires. Two of the ring e madar s f threo e e wires plaited together othee Th .r larger rings, apparentl f eighyo t wires e interlacear , f theo thao mo s d tw tfor ma twisted ridge projecting round the circumference of the rings. One of these ring s i imperfects . They weigh respectively '270 oz., '297 oz., '412 oz., '437 oz., '445 oz, and '487 oz. With them was found a small plain penannular object I'l inch diameter, tapering toward s openinit s g extremity and weighing '216 oz. With this hoard were two portions of apparently larger rings or armlets weighing '360 oz. and '383 oz. While greatly differin charactern i grecentlo tw e yth , found Arran object brokef o e r sar unclosen o d ring shape. Apart fro brilliance mth e of their material they attract attention becaus f theio e r unfamiliar appearance, resemblin ornameno gn r utensio t f historicao l r modero l n times. They give ris speculationo et o theit s a rs functions, whice har not at all apparent. It is clear that they belong to a lost and long forgotten civilisatio f somo n e importanc d refinementan e . Thee yar types, however, well know o studentnt f prehistorio s c archaeology.