During the Bronze Age in Britain (2,500 to 800 BC), gold was regularly mined and used to produce a variety of decorative and ceremonial objects. But in contrast to other regions, it seems that people at that time did not exchange gold pieces for currency – at least not on a widespread or organized basis.
This is the conclusion of a new study just published in the journal Antiquity. The author of that study, Dr. Raphael Hermann from Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, found that gold objects made in Bronze Age Britain do not show any measurable uniformity about weight. This was characteristic of the gold pieces used as money in continental Europe and Mesopotamia during the same time period and was likely an essential element in any ancient gold-based monetary system.
Dr Hermann said: “We now know that scales as a method of quantifying things existed in Bronze Age Britain, as evidenced by the weights and weighing beams found in England at the Farm Potterne and Cliff End”. But his assessment shows that the gold objects coming from this period do not have any patterns that suggest they were carefully considered to meet any kind of particular standard. This is contrary to expectations as previous research appears to have shown the opposite.
Balancing bone beams from prehistoric Britain: 1) Potterne; 2) Cliffs End Farm 1 (image taken from Lawson 2000: 236; Grimm & Schuster 2014: 188; provided by Wessex Archeology; scale 1:1). (Antiques Publishing Company Limited)
Testing confirms the lack of uniformity in ancient British gold
The data used in this latest study was collected through an analysis technique called Cosine Quantile Analysis, or CQA. This is a mathematical formula that can demonstrate meaningful correlations between physical measurements of an object.
“CQA looks at a group of values (for example, the mass value of a load of gold objects) and finds a common multiple (called a quantile) that they all have in common,” explains Dr. Hermann. . When enough of those common quanta are detected, it can be demonstrated that the similarities are based on deliberate choice and cannot be accidental.
An earlier 2019 study of a small number of gold objects from England, Ireland and France applied this method. After completing his analysis, the author of that study claimed to have found evidence that the gold pieces were intentionally created to fit certain weight ranges. This shows that gold was used as a form of currency in England more than 3,000 years ago. Such a result would not be surprising, as previous research has established that gold bars were used as currency in the eastern regions of the British Isles.
Lambourn Hoard, from Lambourn, Berkshire, with three bracelets and two folded twists. (Mobile Antiquities Program / CC BY 2.0)
Intrigued by the results of the 2019 study, Dr. Hermann, an ancient history expert, used the CQA results to evaluate a much larger sample, collecting data on more than 1,000 mined gold pieces. excavations from British Bronze Age sites. These objects are displayed in various museums and include items that have been previously weighed along with many items that have not yet been weighed. Hermann and his colleagues visited these museums on a number of occasions to ensure that they had accurate weights for all items included in the database.
In total, Dr. Hermann was able to collect the exact weight of 863 gold objects. These objects come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and forms, many of which are designed to be worn. The list includes bars, ribbons, rings, bracelets, dress and sleeve laces, and other small, lightweight items that can be easily exchanged for other goods and services.
In Dr. Hermann’s comprehensive study, no CQA correlation was found among the subjects he studied. He said: “Despite the undoubted appeal of gold and the existence of weights and measures in later Bronze Age Britain, objects made of the most precious metals seem to have often not been given weight. quantity”.
Gold used as money or its equivalent will need to be of relatively uniform and reliable weight. People who traded gold for valuable goods needed to know the value of a piece of gold without having to weigh it themselves. Dr Hermann concludes in his book: “While gold can be used in transactions – negotiated on an individual basis – the lack of regulation and compliance with the weight system makes gold difficult to obtain. can be used as currency or reference for value ratios. Ancient cards..
Another study found that more than 3,000 bronze objects taken from European metal warehouses were fragmented into pieces of similar mass value. These metal fragments were taken from “soldier’s bags” at the Late Bronze Age battlefield at Tollensetal, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. (Volker Minkus and Thomas Terberger / Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
Britain lagged behind in their gold standardization
The discovery that the inhabitants of Bronze Age Britain did not standardize their gold coins is curious, because it is inconsistent with what was happening elsewhere in that time frame. “Metallic objects of specified mass are a well-known phenomenon of European prehistory,” Dr. Hermann confirmed.
For example, a recent study found that more than 3,000 bronze objects retrieved from European metal archives were broken into many pieces with similar mass values. Nearly 4,000 years ago, mass regulation was carried out by hacksilver processors in Mesopotamia, where textual evidence demonstrates that silver was exchanged directly for valuable supplies. By the end of the Mycenaean Bronze Age, it is known that gold cut to standard weights was commonly used as a form of money.
Why such practices were slow to develop in Bronze Age Britain remains a mystery. It was not until the second century BC that actual gold coins were first produced and used in Britain, so it seems that it took quite a while before the ancient peoples of Britain began to first introduced gold into their monetary system.
