The Ringlemere Cup is a highly valuable artifact discovered by a lucky treasure hunter in Ringlemere barrow, an archaeological site in the county of Kent in southeastern England. Dating back to the Bronze Age, the Ringlemere Gold Cup is arguably the most famous find at the site.
Explore the Ringlemere Cup
On November 4, 2001, a metal detectorist named Cliff Bradsahw made a memorable discovery when his metal detector flagged gold while scanning the fields of Ringlemere Farm, near the historic town of Sandwich. in Kent.
Under the Treasure Act 1996, Bradshaw reported his find to the local Portable Antiquities liaison officer. Incidentally, the Portable Antiquities Program was established in 1997, a year after the 1996 Treasure Act was passed. The scheme aims to document small archaeological finds made by the public. Thus the Ringlemere Gold Cup was noted and in 2002 it was declared a treasure.
Ringlemere Cup details with studs and lip decoration. (CC of SA 3.0)
Finder creates luck
Due to its archaeological significance, the Ringlemere Cup was purchased by the British Museum for £270,000. The money needed to purchase the object was raised through donations from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the National Art Collections Fund and the Friends of the British Museum, the funds were then shared with Bradshaw and the Smith family, who own Ringlemere Farm.
Made from a single block of gold
The cup dates from 1700 to 1500 BC, looks like a Neolithic ceramic cup (2300 BC) with Corded Ware decoration (named for the cord-like mark) and possibly inspired by this older style.
A corded vessel from the late Neolithic period, with characteristic cord-like decoration ( CC by SA 3.0 )
According to researchers, the Ringlemere Gold Cup is created from a single gold bar plated into the desired shape. The British Museum’s description of the cup is as follows:
“With a conical body tapering to the base of the omphalos; flared rim; Single riveted strap handle links the brim with carination in the middle. The riveted panels are diamond-shaped and the handle has decorative parallel moldings with hourglass-shaped edges. Most of the body, both the neck and lower part, are enhanced by continuous horizontal ribs. Above and below are plains, but just in front of the rim there is a row of spikes perforated from the outer surface.”
Crushed by a plow
Unfortunately, the Ringlemere Gold Cup has lost its original appearance as it was heavily crushed at some point, probably due to recent plowing operations. However, a 3D reconstruction of this vase has been made so that we can get an idea of what the original cup looked like.
Original illustration of the Ringlemere Cup. Source: British Museum
A grave offering ceremony?
The cup dates from 1700 to 1500 BC, corresponding to the Bronze Age in Britain. It has been suggested that the Ringlemere Cup may have originally been placed in a cart as a grave offering. While some similar objects have been found in tombs, there are also cases where such objects are found in burial sites rather than in the tombs themselves. It is unclear whether the cup belonged to the former or the latter.
Rillaton Cup
In England, there is only one known vase whose style is related to the Rigglemere Gold Cup – the Rillaton Cup. The remaining people, five in total, came from other parts of Europe, specifically Brittany in France, northwestern Germany and northern Switzerland. It is the rarity of this type of ship that makes the Ringlemere Gold Cup such a remarkable find. Unfortunately, this rarity also contributes to the lack of understanding we currently have about these precious objects.
Rillaton Gold Cup (CC of SA 3.0)
The Ringlemere Cup has spent most of its time on display in the British Museum since its purchase. However, it was on temporary display in various British museums for many years. For example, from 2004 to 2006 the Ringlemere Cup was displayed in several museums as part of the exhibition ‘Buried Treasures: In Search of Our Past’, while from 2006 By 2007, the trophy was on display at the Dover Museum, not far away. from where it was originally found.
