The Bronze Age Gold Rush of the (British) Southwest

June 6, 2015 12:33 PM

Trading Gold: Why Bronze Age Irish Used Imported Gold “The results of this study are a fascinating finding. They show that there was no universal value of gold, at least until perhaps the first gold coins started to appear nearly two thousand years later. Prehistoric economies were driven by factors more complex than the trade of commodities – belief systems clearly played a major role.”

See also:

Cornwall was scene of prehistoric gold rush, says new research

Southwest England Experienced its Own Gold Rush, Trading Route Detailed

Archaeologists Find Evidence of 4,500-Year-Old Gold Trade Route

posted by Michele in California (4 comments total)

The University Herald has a tasty illustration.
posted by topynate at 12:50 PM on June 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

- belief systems clearly played a major role

Just like beenie babies?
posted by njohnson23 at 12:56 PM on June 6, 2015 [4 favorites]

The Independent article is the only one worth reading, as they went beyond the press release.
posted by Thing at 12:57 PM on June 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

...the elites of Stonehenge almost certainly likewise obtained their gold from the south-west peninsula, as may the rulers of north-west Wales, who took to wearing capes made of solid gold.

One of these gold capes was the subject of an episode of the BBC and British Museum's A History of the World in 100 Objects podcast (link), discovered by workers digging a stone quarry in 1833 and broken up and sold, then slowly re-assembled by the museum over the course of more than a century.
posted by XMLicious at 1:11 PM on June 6, 2015 [2 favorites]