Proc SocAntiq Scot, 114 (1984), 189-198

hoarA latf do e Bronz gole edAg objects from Heights of Brae, Ross and Cromarty District, Highland Region KempB M Clarke V *M D d *an

SUMMARY lateA Bronze goldAge hoard comprising minimuma threeof cup-ended ornaments, five penannular armlets with expanded terminals and a corrugated band is described and the circumstances of its discovery and its composition are discussed.

In August 1979 two late Bronze Age ornaments, a cup-ended ornament (no 3) and an armlet (no 8), were brought to the National Museum of Antiquities by Mrs D MacDonald of Dingwall, Ros Cromartyd san . These objects, together wit othero htw s since lostbeed ha ,n found some 12 years earlier on her parents-in-law's croft at Heights of Brae (illus 1) in the course of ploughing.1 They had originally been regarded as horse brasses and there was a suggestion that other object similaf so r appearanc beed eha n ploughe t discarde basie bu field th e p sdn th u O n . do of this information, the Museum decided that the site should be examined and three members of its Artifact Research Unit (Mr A Foxon, Mr N Sharpies and Miss C Wickham-Jones) subsequently visite site dth e durin firse gth t wee f Septemberko . e fielTh d wher e goleth d object beed ha sn discovere aren a f 1-3 ao s 9dha hectares i d an s located at a height of c 228 m OD. It lies on the boundary between moorland and cultivated land and, althoug fiele beed hth dha n ploughed some five precedine timeth n si g decade rougs wa t hi , pasture at the time of the investigation. The field slopes to the S with a flattish terrace in the middle. The gold objects brought to the Museum had been recovered to the S of this terrace. There wer obviouo en s artificial feature fiele th dn si apart fro msmala edgN l e knoleth t a l wher farmee eth ploughed ha r somp du e blackened stones, probabl remaine yth smala f so l croft. e lac f obviouTh ko s features prompte surveyso tw d contoua : r survey encompassing some 1100 sq m (c 8% of the area of the field) around the supposed find spot of the gold objects and a metal detector survey covering abou fielde lattethire e th responsibls on f Th t. d o wa r recovere th r efo y of a further seven gold objects which would otherwise have been impossible to locate. The metal detector surve undertakes ywa n wit h'C-scopea ' machinoperatoe th strip m d 2 san n e i r swepa t metre stretch with every step. This work produced a strong reading on the terrace and a 2m square was opened around this anomaly. Twenty centimetres of ploughsoil overlay the bedrock. All the gold objects, except one (no e bedrockth ) n whic7 o y , hla wer thin i e s ploughsoil e seveTh . n gold objects were found close * Artifact Research Unit, National Museu mf Antiquitieo Scotlandf so , Queen Street, Edinburgh | SOCIET 0 19 Y OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1984

ILLUS 1 Location map

ILLUS 2 Cup-ended ornaments (scale 1:2) CLARKE AND KEMP: LATE BRONZE AGE GOLD OBJECTS FROM HEIGHTS OF BRAE I 191

ILLU S3 Cup-ended ornaments, arrange illun i s s2 da

together, four bein smala n gi l heap consistin corrugateda f go , buckle crumpled dan d) 9 ban o d(n which partly enveloped two obliquely set armlets with expanded terminals (nos 4 & 5). A cup-ended ornament (no 1) was on top of this group, only some 5 cm below the turf. Some 30 cm f thio sS groue s anotheth pwa o t r cup-ended t verticallornamense o e soil) 2 th Tw .o n yi (n t isolatee th f o dE cup-endeN m c 5 groue 6 th dd f armletornamentpan o t E se m sc e wer0 on ,5 ec ) restinbedrocke othee 7 th th o n d (n rgo an .obliquel) 6 soie o th (n l n yi No soil or rock-cut features associated with the objects could be determined. A soil discoloration around the group of four objects and a circular stain around the isolated cup-ended ornamen ) wer2 o e (n vert y insubstantia carefud an l l excavatio botf no h suggested that they were not contextually significant. They corresponded with ploughmarks seen in the sections of the bedrocke th n trenco t seemd I . han s probable that these seven object foue wels th sa rs founa l y db the farmer (two of which are now lost) were not in situ at the time of their discovery. Nevertheless t appeari , s equally likely that the l for hoare yal mthad on dan t recent ploughind gha separated them. The pieces were acquired by the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland as Treasure Trove. 192 | SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1984

CATALOGUE CUP-ENDED ORNAMENTS (illuS 2-4) The piece is badly scratched and the terminals are dented. The decoration is unfinished: scratched incisions occur 1-5 mm from the edge of the cup on both inside and outside but only for halcircumference th f f eaceo h cup. Peck marks fro manufacturine mth g processe visible sar n eo outee insidcupse e th th th n r f o ,cupe o neck th sf so wher e they joibane around nth dan e dth mid-point of the band. Overall dimensions 65-25x40-3m 5m Band thickness 5-25-8-2m 5m Max diam of cups 42-m 5m Max ht of cups 14-5 mm Weight 112-6g analysiF XR s Cu 6-8%; Au 80-6%; Ag 12-6% NMAS cataloguo en FE94 The most finished of the cup-ended ornaments and the most polished item in the hoard. The cups e slightlar y innee denteth d r surfacdan bane th s quitdf i o e e abraded crackw .fe Thera s e ear visible in both the inner and outer surfaces of the cups. Three incised lines, 2 mm in total width, are present on the band at the point where it joins the cups (illus 4a). On the inside edge of the grooveo tw cup e ssar forming three ridges. Each groov wid 1-c runm d 5s em i e an s parallee th o t l cups' rims (illus 4b). The outer surface of the cups has no decoration. The cups are not centred on the join with the band but instead project outwards, increasing the overall width. The object appears finished apart from the smoothing down of a bump (? an impurity in the metal) on the band near the join with one of the cups. Overall dimensions 74-5x27-m 5m Band thickness 4-6 mm diax f cupmMa o s 45 mm f cupo t sh x Ma 16-65 mm Weight 66-2 g XRF analysis Cu 6-1%; Au 76.0%; Ag 17-9% NMAS cataloguo en FE95 The cups are scratched on their outer surfaces. Peck marks from the manufacturing processes are visible on the band where it joins the cups. At these points the band is slightly faceted. There is decoratioo n objecte th n no . Unlik othee exampleo eth rtw cupe centre e sth joie sar th n n witdo h the band. The piece appears unfinished since the edges of the cups are rough and have inward jutting lips. Ther evidenco n s ei e that these lips were retaining material fillin cupse gth . Overall dimensions 65-15x2m 7m Band thickness 4-25-m 7m diax f cupmMa o s 43mm Max ht of cups 21-1 mm Weight 83-3 g XRF analysis Cu 5-8%; Au 79-2%; Ag 15-0% NMAS cataloguo en FE96

PENANNULAR ARMLETS WITH EXPANDED TERMINALS (illuS 5-6) One side of the armlet is markedly more scratched than the other. There is a crack and a bump impuritn a metal e ? middl( e th bare th n th yi n , )i f ewhico round-sectioneds hi terminale Th . e sar solid and cone-shaped with a rough lip around the edge which suggests that they are unfinished. Overall dimensions : 69-4x50-3 mm Bar thickness : 3-15-4-7 mm diax f mterminalsMa o : 7-m 6m Weight : 34 g XRF: analysis 6-8%u C 80-1%u A ; 13-1g A ; % NMAS catalogu: o en FE97

CLARKE AND KEMP: LATE BRONZE AGE GOLD OBJECTS FROM HEIGHTS OF BRAE 195

There are scars and scratches on the inner surface of the bar and marks from the manufacturing processe visible joine sar th t se a wit round-sectioneds terminalse i hr th ba e Th . e expandeTh . d surfac terminale th f eo slightls si y concave whil face eth e itsel flas i f t with rough edges. Overall dimensions 75x47 mm r thicknesBa s 3-15^-2m 5m Max diam of terminals 8-35 mm Weight 32-5 g XRF analysis Cu 5-5%; Au 80-9%; Ag 13-6% NMAS catalogue no FE98

Scar d scratche e terminalsan sd clos th an e innee o visibl t eth r ar s ba rn o .esurface th f o e Manufacturing marks, triangula shapn i r d consisten a pointean e f o e dt us tool wite e th har , concentrateround-sectioneds i terminalsd r an ba r unioe e ba th f Th t .no da terminale Th . e ar s solid cones with rough edges. Overall dimensions 69-35x44-2 mm Bar thickness 3-3-m 5m diax f terminalmMa o s 7-6m 5m Weight 41-4 g analysiF XR s Cu 5-7%; Au 75-9%; Ag 18-4% NMAS catalogue no FE99

The bar, which has been pulled out of shape, has both long and short vertical scratches. Manufacturing mark se terminals occuth n o r . Unlik e otheth e s lozengeri armletsr ba e - th , sectioned although not at the junction with the terminals where it is rounder. The four main facets are c 3 mm wide although in places there are three smaller facets creating an irregular heptagonal section terminaledgee e th Th .f so roughe sar lozenge Th . e sectio bess ni t interpreted adesiga s n feature although e armlet parallel th t common f no o se o founar s Tw .t Stonehila d l Wood, Carmichael, Lanarkshire have a similar cross-section but are not otherwise closely comparable (Anderson 1886, 211-12, figs 228-29t whollno t s noti ybu ,9 eaccurate 22 tha g fi t : NMAS L. 1978. 4-5); better parallels occur in the Downpatrick hoard (Proudfoot 1955). Overall dimensions 74-65x36-5 mm r thicknesBa s 3-75-5-m 2m diax f terminalmMa o s 7-27 mm Weight 38-4 g XRF analysis 5-5%u C 76-5%u A ; 18-0g A ; % NMAS cataloguo en 0 10 E F

The bar is round-sectioned. Unlike the terminals of the other armlets, these give every indication of being finished with well smoothed off lips and slightly convex faces. Overall dimensions 66-7x44-7 mm Bar thickness 3-6-5-25 mm diax f terminalmMa o s 9-4m 5m Weight 41-48g analysiF XR s Cu 7-8%; Au 75-2%; Ag 17-0% NMAS catalogue no FE 101

CORRUGATED BAND (illuS 7-8) The band is made of sheet gold which, although badly twisted and dented, retains a good deal of rigidity e decoratioTh . n consist f corrugationo s s forming five ridge f whicso e centrahth l three, c 5 mm wide, are the most prominent. No join is now visible on the band. The only close parallel appearunprovenancen a e b o st d Irish piece described gooo n dn ,o grounds 'braceleta s ,a ' (Christie's Sale catalogue, 1 September 1970, lot 179). Apart from this uninformative comparison the closest | SOCIET 6 ANTIQUARIE19 F YO SCOTLANDF SO , 1984

ILLU S7 Corrugated band (scale 1:2) ILLUS 8 Corrugated band

resemblance, despite a significant difference in size, is provided by the hilt-mounts for early Bronze Age daggers from Scotland and Ireland (Henshall 1968; Flanagan 1961). Circumference m m 1 25 Max width 22 mm Thickness of sheet 1 mm Weight 37-5 g XRF analysis Cu 4-6%; Au 80-6%; Ag 14-8% NMAS cataloguo en FE 102 The X-ray fluorescence analyses quoted in the catalogue were carried out in the National Museum's Research Laborator Misy yb MortimeC s r undergraduat he pars a rf o t e dissertatio e quotear d dnan here with her permission.

DISCUSSION The principal aim of this paper is to place on record what is, apart from the lost hoard from Coul, Islay (Clarke 1976), the largest hoard of late Bronze Age gold objects yet found in Scotland. Nevertheless commentsw fe a , , arising fro e circumstancemth s discoverit f o s d an y composition worte ar , h making. Despit e desirabilitth e f suco y h work e discoverth , f appareno y t stray find s seldoi s m investigated more fully even whe objecte typef nth o e ssar regularly recovere hoardsn di . Thers ei a variety of reasons why this should be so but the work at Heights of Brae provides a salutary reminde evidence th f rwilfullo e b ey whicyma e abandoninghw . Indee worts i t di h recalling that i t wa informatioe sth n that other object beed fiele ha sn th dlef n whico t h provide stimulue dth r sfo e subsequenth t fieldwork. Coles (1960 ) liste 93 find,8 1 df lat o s e Bronz e golAg ed ornaments (discounting the Torloisk, Mull material now shown to be Irish in provenance: Eogan 1967) but no less than 13 contained two or less objects and only one discovery exceeded five. There would, therefore, have been no reason, without the additional information provided by the finder, to suppos objecto etw e los r thafouth e t (o s f th i titemr s were indee t de hoard no th par d f o tdi ) represent the complete find. Certainly, subsequent investigation did not provide information abou nature hoard'e th tth f eo s depositiogreatld di t i yt increasnbu numbee eth f objecto r d an s expand the variety of types represented. CLARK KEMPD EAN : LATE BRONZ GOLE EDAG OBJECTS FROM HEIGHT7 19 BRAF S| O E

e littlTherb n e eca doub centurieh 7t t r thao e hoar th h ts 8t containd B e Cdatean th o t ss objects with well known parallel lessea Irelann o i st rd extenan d t elsewher Scotlandn i e e Th . corrugated band, however, is less readily incorporated into such a description. Sheet gold was, of course ,e lat useth e n di Bronz e Age, most spectacularl e productioth n yi f gorgetsw no fe t bu , pieces are quite so reminiscent of early Bronze Age design as this band. Its discovery, together with the general state of the objects, must influence the wider interpretation of the hoard. The large numbe f findro f cup-endeo s d ornament armletd san s with expanded terminal Irelann si s dha caused most commentator Coleg s(e s 1960 interpreo t ) t Scottish discoverie imports sa s from that country. This f courseo , , remain a possibilits e Heightth t f Brabu yo s e materia t easilno s yi l understood within suc frameworkha s beeha ns n cataloguee noteA . ca th 8 n d i d an ,2 onls yno reasonabl regardee yb beins da finishea n gi d corrugatee statth e- dmigh) 9 ban o td(n also fall into this category although its present damaged state precludes certainty. The rest all appear to show traces of manufacture, albeit not readily interpreted in terms of Maryon's descriptions (1938), whic e mighhon t expec e removeb o t t finishen do d objects difficuls i t I . understano t t d such evidence within the normative explanations of trade or exchange but altogether much easier if more local manufactur envisageds i e e unusuaTh . l corrugated band might als e morob e easily interpreted as the product of a local workshop. Certainly, there is no obvious reason to interpret types with parallel Irelann si necessarils da producte yth Irisf so h artisans e basie solelth th f so n yo greater number of finds in that country. The moulds for bronze tools and weapons found at Jarlshof (Hamilton 1956, 28-9) should introduce caution into our judgements. Our inability to resolve satisfactorily even the problems of provenance make wider explanation e hoard'th f o s s significance extremely difficult. Despit e fieleth d investigationo n , information abou e circumstanceth t f depositioo s s obtainedwa n , althoug e evidencth h e from Downpatrick (Proudfoot 1955, 1-2, 11-12) does not suggest that we would necessarily be in a much stronger position even if the hoard had not been disturbed. Its contents do not materially aid interpretation. Unwarranted descriptions involving terms such as merchant's, votive or personal, which are often applied to hoards, obscure rather than enlighten through a spurious imag f understandingeo . Ther t presena s ei t very little evidenc explaio et hoardy nwh f golso d objects were burielatee th rn d i Bronzr whethe o e objecte eAg th r s before burial were controlled by an individual, a family or a community. Viewe termn di f golso d ornament hoare sth d from Height Braf so vers ei y muc outliern ha ; o armlettw onl e sth y from Hillhead, Caithness (Curie 1913 e morar ) e northerlye th find n o s Scottish mainland. However, hoards containing bronze ornaments samoccue th e en rar i ared aan linked, typologicall distributionallyd yan rice th h o hoardt , s from Grampian Region (Coles 1960, 63, map 8). Hoards such as Auchtertyre, Moray (Smith 1872, 435-8), Wester Ord (Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 8 (1870-2), 309-10) and Poolewe (Jolly 1880), both Ross, contain a number of bronze ornaments as well as tools and weapons. Many of these ornaments are Covesea types but Poolewe contains a bronze cup-ended ornament closely comparable to the gold examples from Heights of Brae while the contemporaneous use of armlets with expanded terminals and Covesea armlets is suggeste e fin t Alloath a d y db , Clackmannanshire (Anderson 1883, 447-8). Indeed within this wider perspectiv e argueb n ca d t ethai e Height th t f Brao s e goldwor meano n e y mosb th s s ki t unexpecte r exotimateriae do th r discovered f fa co o s l .

NOTE e exacTh t positio . e fin1 s availablth i d f no researco t e h worker application o s e Nationath o nt l Museu f Antiquitiemo f Scotlanso Nationae th r do l Monuments Recor f Scotlanddo . 8 19 SOCIET ANTIQUARIEF YO SCOTLANDF SO , 1984

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS MacDonalD s Mr e wisd d thei W o thanan an dt h r Aitchisonr F familyM kT r M e , th , Procurato rs depute NeilFiscalhi D d member r d an e Northerl M an th ,, f o s n Constabulary stationed at Dingwall for their ready assistance during the field investigations. We would also like to thank Dr J Close-Brooks, Dr J J Taylor and Professor G Eogan for helpful comments on the hoard; Miss E H Jackson for the line illustrations; and Miss D Moyes for the photographs.

REFERENCES Anderson J , 1883 'Notic e museu f urnth o e n i s m that have been found witr ho articlee us f o s ornament', Proc Antiqc So Scot, (1882-3)7 1 , 446-59. Anderson, J 1886 Scotland in pagan times: the Bronze and Stone Ages. Edinburgh. Clarke, D V 1976 The lost hoard of gold objects from Coul, Islay, Argyll', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 107 (1975-6), 307-09. Coles M 196 J , 0 'Scottish Late Bronz e metalworkAg e : typology, distribution chronology'd an s , Proc Antiqc So Scot, (1959-60)3 9 , 16-134. Curie O 191 A , 3 'Two penannular gold armletsstone th d e bowan , whicn i l h they were found, from Hillhead, Caithness', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 47 (1912-13), 433-5. Eogan, G 1967 The Mull ("South of Ireland") hoard', Antiquity, 41 (1967), 56-8. Flanagan W 196 N L 1, 'Wesse Ireland earle xmiddlan d th yan n di e bronze ages' Bersun i , & G , Dehn, W (eds), Bericht fiber den V. Internationalen Kongress fur vor- und Friihgeschichte August0 3 s bi Hamburg 4 1958,2 m vo Berlin , 284-91. Hamilton, J R C 1956 Excavations at Jarlshof, Shetland. Edinburgh. Henshall, A S 1968 'Scottish dagger graves' in Coles, J M & Simpson, D D A (eds), Studies in ancient Europe: essays presented Stuarto t Piggott, Leicester, 173-95. Jolly W 188, 0 'Note bronzn so e weapon othed san r remains found near Poolewe, Ross-shire', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, (1879-80)4 1 , 45-9. Maryon, H 1938 The technical methods of the Irish smiths in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages', Proc Roy Ir Acad, 44C (1937-8), 181-228. Proudfoot B 195 V , Downpatricke 5Th gold find. Belfast. (=Archaeol (Northernb Pu s Re Ireland), 3). Smith A 187 J , 2 'Notic f bronzeo eheadse celtax r o s, which have apparently been tinned; alsf o bronze weapon armletsd san , found along with portion f metalliso nean cti r Elgi 1868'n ni , Proc Soc Antiq Scot, (1870-2)9 , 428-43. This paper publishedis granta of from aid with the the National Museum Antiquitiesof Scotlandof