Gold in Britain's auriferous regions, 2450-800 BC: towards a coherent Research Framework and Strategy
Lead Research Organisation:
National Museums Scotland
Department Name: Scottish History and Archaeology
Abstract
We aim to understand better the pre-Iron Age gold artefacts that have been found in Britain's auriferous (gold-bearing) regions - Scotland, Wales and parts of western England. These include some of Britain's best-known gold objects, such as the 720-gramme 'cape' found at Mold, north-east Wales. Despite decades of study and perennial public fascination in such objects, many questions still remain: was local or non-local gold used to make them (or a mixture of gold from different sources)? Where, how and why were they made? How was the production of gold objects organised? How was the know-how for extracting and working gold passed on? What was gold's significance, meaning and value to the people who used it? Such questions are important because gold offers us a way of understanding the social and economic dynamics of Copper Age and Bronze Age societies, at regional, national and international scales. Gold has been used as a symbol of power ever since its use, and the know-how to extract and work it, were introduced to Britain by Continental immigrants around 2450 BC. Gold objects will have played a prominent role in interactions between elites. As a rare, precious material that can catch the sun's rays and dazzle the observer, it was probably invested with potent symbolism. We have only just begun to appreciate the nuances of its use and significance in prehistoric Britain. But there are exciting developments: master goldworker Brian Clarke is currently completing a replica of the Mold 'cape', his work yielding new insights into the tools, techniques and expertise of the Bronze Age goldworker; and Dr Chris Standish's recent lead isotope analysis of Irish and some Scottish Early Bronze Age gold artefacts has overturned long-held views by showing they were made using gold from Cornwall or Devon, rather than Ireland.
Developing our understanding further requires an approach that crosses disciplinary and geographical boundaries. So we propose to bring together, for the first time, many of the foremost researchers on prehistoric gold in Europe - archaeologists, geologists, geochemists, archaeometallurgists and practising goldworkers - into a Research Network, along with early career researchers and postgraduates. They will be tasked with taking stock of what we do and do not know about gold as a raw material and as finished artefacts in Britain's auriferous regions, c 2450-800 BC, setting this within a broader national and international context; defining the key outstanding research questions; and formulating a coherent, effective research strategy to tackle those questions. They will do so through a series of three symposia, held in Edinburgh, Cardiff and (to underline the strong Irish links that did exist during this period) Dublin. The resulting Research Framework and Strategy will be disseminated as an on-line, open access resource on the National Museums' Scotland website. Why focus on Britain's auriferous regions? Because: i) here is where we have the best chance of detecting the use of local vs. non-local gold in the case of objects that have not been repeatedly recycled or made from mixed-source gold; and ii) the task is manageable within the project timescale. But the Network's perspective and value will extend far further: it will set new standards for prehistoric gold research and lay the foundations for a major international research project.
The Network's activities will be outward-facing, benefiting a wide range of stakeholders. There will be public lectures and podcasts by Network members and,after the Dublin symposium, a practical demonstration of Bronze Age-style metalworking by Brian Clarke, filmed for the Network's web pages. Information on and images of individual gold objects from the study area will be posted on the web pages, and social media will track developments and allow public feedback. There will be academic and popular publications and conference presentations, including at the 2019 EAA conference.
Developing our understanding further requires an approach that crosses disciplinary and geographical boundaries. So we propose to bring together, for the first time, many of the foremost researchers on prehistoric gold in Europe - archaeologists, geologists, geochemists, archaeometallurgists and practising goldworkers - into a Research Network, along with early career researchers and postgraduates. They will be tasked with taking stock of what we do and do not know about gold as a raw material and as finished artefacts in Britain's auriferous regions, c 2450-800 BC, setting this within a broader national and international context; defining the key outstanding research questions; and formulating a coherent, effective research strategy to tackle those questions. They will do so through a series of three symposia, held in Edinburgh, Cardiff and (to underline the strong Irish links that did exist during this period) Dublin. The resulting Research Framework and Strategy will be disseminated as an on-line, open access resource on the National Museums' Scotland website. Why focus on Britain's auriferous regions? Because: i) here is where we have the best chance of detecting the use of local vs. non-local gold in the case of objects that have not been repeatedly recycled or made from mixed-source gold; and ii) the task is manageable within the project timescale. But the Network's perspective and value will extend far further: it will set new standards for prehistoric gold research and lay the foundations for a major international research project.
The Network's activities will be outward-facing, benefiting a wide range of stakeholders. There will be public lectures and podcasts by Network members and,after the Dublin symposium, a practical demonstration of Bronze Age-style metalworking by Brian Clarke, filmed for the Network's web pages. Information on and images of individual gold objects from the study area will be posted on the web pages, and social media will track developments and allow public feedback. There will be academic and popular publications and conference presentations, including at the 2019 EAA conference.
Planned Impact
The outputs of the project will benefit a wide range of non-academic stakeholders, as detailed in the Pathways to Impact statement:
1. The general public: understanding of, and engagement with, the wealth of information relating to pre- Iron Age gold in Britain's auriferous (gold-bearing) regions will be enriched and enhanced by the web outputs, by popular publications (e.g. article in Current Archaeology) and by the raft of public events and activities that are planned. For example, they will be able to see a Bronze Age-style artefact being made by expert goldworker Brian Clarke - both live and as recorded for the web pages; they can attend lectures by internationally-respected experts on gold, and hear podcasts by Network members; they can see images and information about individual gold objects found in this part of Britain, and can learn about their broader, national and international context and significance in the accessibly-presented Research Framework; and they can follow and comment on the Network's progress on social media. Upskilled volunteer guides in the National Museums in Edinburgh and Cardiff will give them improved gallery tours featuring prehistoric gold objects; and in the longer term, visitors to the National Museum of Scotland will enjoy a new Early People display that will have been informed by the Research Network's activities.
2. The Third Sector: regional and local museum curators - most of whom lack specialist archaeological or geological knowledge - will derive a better understanding of prehistoric gold, and of research into it, from the project's web-based and public forms of dissemination. This will enable them to improve their own displays and educational 'offer', and to make informed decisions when approached by researchers wishing to undertake analysis of prehistoric gold items in their collections. And teachers in the formal and informal educational sectors can use the web-based content (especially the information about, and images of, individual gold artefacts from the study area) to enhance their teaching.
3. The commercial archaeological sector: as an accessible digest of information about prehistoric gold, goldworking and gold artefacts in Britain's auriferous regions between c2450 BC and 800 BC (including an up to date list and distribution map of finds), the project's web-based outputs will: a) assist excavators in their desk-based assessments of significant archaeological finds in areas where they are to excavate; b) facilitate the correct identification and dating of new discoveries of prehistoric gold artefacts; c) guide project managers when considering the best course of action for analysing new finds of gold artefacts; and d) deepen the understanding of field-based archaeologists of an important period in Britain's prehistory.
4. Public sector agencies/bodies: the staff of the Treasure Trove Unit in Scotland, and of the Portable Antiquities Scheme in England and Wales (and indeed, Northern Ireland given the close comparability of many gold finds with those from Britain's auriferous zones), will benefit from the web-based outputs since these will facilitate the correct identification and dating of new discoveries of prehistoric gold artefacts. Of particular use in this regard will be the web pages presenting images and information about individual Chalcolithic and Bronze Age gold artefacts.
5. Policy makers: the Research Framework and Strategy will provide funding agencies, both national and international, with a clear sense of where money can most effectively be spent to address the outstanding questions surrounding prehistoric gold, not just in Britain's auriferous regions but more widely.
1. The general public: understanding of, and engagement with, the wealth of information relating to pre- Iron Age gold in Britain's auriferous (gold-bearing) regions will be enriched and enhanced by the web outputs, by popular publications (e.g. article in Current Archaeology) and by the raft of public events and activities that are planned. For example, they will be able to see a Bronze Age-style artefact being made by expert goldworker Brian Clarke - both live and as recorded for the web pages; they can attend lectures by internationally-respected experts on gold, and hear podcasts by Network members; they can see images and information about individual gold objects found in this part of Britain, and can learn about their broader, national and international context and significance in the accessibly-presented Research Framework; and they can follow and comment on the Network's progress on social media. Upskilled volunteer guides in the National Museums in Edinburgh and Cardiff will give them improved gallery tours featuring prehistoric gold objects; and in the longer term, visitors to the National Museum of Scotland will enjoy a new Early People display that will have been informed by the Research Network's activities.
2. The Third Sector: regional and local museum curators - most of whom lack specialist archaeological or geological knowledge - will derive a better understanding of prehistoric gold, and of research into it, from the project's web-based and public forms of dissemination. This will enable them to improve their own displays and educational 'offer', and to make informed decisions when approached by researchers wishing to undertake analysis of prehistoric gold items in their collections. And teachers in the formal and informal educational sectors can use the web-based content (especially the information about, and images of, individual gold artefacts from the study area) to enhance their teaching.
3. The commercial archaeological sector: as an accessible digest of information about prehistoric gold, goldworking and gold artefacts in Britain's auriferous regions between c2450 BC and 800 BC (including an up to date list and distribution map of finds), the project's web-based outputs will: a) assist excavators in their desk-based assessments of significant archaeological finds in areas where they are to excavate; b) facilitate the correct identification and dating of new discoveries of prehistoric gold artefacts; c) guide project managers when considering the best course of action for analysing new finds of gold artefacts; and d) deepen the understanding of field-based archaeologists of an important period in Britain's prehistory.
4. Public sector agencies/bodies: the staff of the Treasure Trove Unit in Scotland, and of the Portable Antiquities Scheme in England and Wales (and indeed, Northern Ireland given the close comparability of many gold finds with those from Britain's auriferous zones), will benefit from the web-based outputs since these will facilitate the correct identification and dating of new discoveries of prehistoric gold artefacts. Of particular use in this regard will be the web pages presenting images and information about individual Chalcolithic and Bronze Age gold artefacts.
5. Policy makers: the Research Framework and Strategy will provide funding agencies, both national and international, with a clear sense of where money can most effectively be spent to address the outstanding questions surrounding prehistoric gold, not just in Britain's auriferous regions but more widely.
Publications
Knight, M G
(2020)
Gold in Britain's auriferous regions, 2450-800BC
Sheridan, J A
(2023)
Understanding gold in prehistoric Scotland
in Archaeology Scotland magazine
Sheridan, J.A.
(2018)
Precious prehistory
in Explorer
Sheridan, J.A.
(2019)
Gold in prehistoric Scotland
in History Scotland
Standish C
(2021)
Archaeological applications of natural gold analyses
in Geological Society, London, Special Publications
| Title | Production of a podcast by Research Network member Dr Chris Standish, produced by Win Scutt, on 'Prehistoric gold and its analysis' |
| Description | Professionally-produced podcast, produced by Win Scutt and featuring Research Network member Dr Chris Standish, explaining the issues involved in trying to source prehistoric gold artefacts and describing the results of his own lead isotope analyses of Irish and Scottish Early Bronze Age artefacts. His work has been able to demonstrate the use of Cornish gold during the Early Bronze Age. The podcast also explains about the work of the AHRC Prehistoric Gold Research Network. It is hosted on the website of National Museums Scotland. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | This has raised awareness of the work of the Research Network, particularly among young researchers, who have been notified about its existence through postcards distributed at the Bronze Age Forum (Durham, 8-10 November 2019) and the Theoretical Archaeology Group conference, University College London, December 2019, through the project's twitter page and Dr Matt Knight's twitter page, and through publicity given to the AHRC initiative by the Prehistoric Society's facebook page. It has generated many expressions of interest in the project. So far, there have been 139 downloads and two 'likes'; publicising of the podcast continues with the continued issuing of postcards at conferences. |
| URL | https://soundcloud.com/nationalmuseumsscotland/chris-standish-on-gold-and-its-analysis |
| Description | We have developed a robust international, interdisciplinary network which, for the first time, has brought together specialists in different gold-associated disciplines and has got them discussing matters of mutual relevance and working together to formulate a Research Framework and Strategy (which has been achieved). We have raised awareness of the Network and its activities to a worldwide audience and we have given significant assistance to local museum curators and to those who deal with the administration of new finds of archaeological artefacts (i.e. Finds Liaison Officers in England and Wales and the Treasure Trove Unit in Scotland). The Network has continued to flourish since the end of the project, and Network members continue to exchange ideas, information and knowledge. The Network's deliberations served to highlight the need for further fieldwork to obtain accurately-provenanced raw material samples, not just in Britain but also in Ireland and on the Continent, to improve the characterisation of the raw material. They have also underlined the need to develop an international, standardised, inter-operable database of compositional data, not just for raw gold but also for artefactual gold. They have clarified the issues involved in trying to source artefactual gold - issues including the mixing of gold from different sources, and the compositional chances that can occur during 'recycling' of the metal. A protocol for analysis has been formulated that ensures minimal or no destruction of artefactual gold. The need to explore other analytical methods to characterise gold (specifically through a wider range of isotope analyses) has been acknowledged. The Network has succeeded in its stated aim of skills and knowledge transfer, with early career researchers having confirmed that the workshops have transformed their understanding of the issues surrounding prehistoric gold. It has also succeeded in forging lasting relationships across the disciplines of geology/geochemistry, archaeometallurgy, archaeology and practical goldworking, with the Network's facebook and twitter accounts being used as a forum for continuing debate and information sharing. New collaborations have been created (e.g. with the provision of a sample of Breton gold to geochemists based in Halle, to help complete their raw gold collection. That sample has now been analysed). |
| Exploitation Route | They will form the basis for all future research into prehistoric gold in Britain and beyond, and they are already informing plans to apply for a major research grant to carry out the Research Strategy that is being formulated. The need to undertake more and different analysis, as identified by our project, has resulted in the re-analysis, by Dr Rob Chapman at the University of Leeds, of a set of samples from National Museums (NMS) Scotland Bronze Age gold artefacts in preparation for an important publication, a Geological Society Special Publication, which he is editing and to which the PI and Co-I have been invited to contribute. Under the aegis of the AHRC gold project, the PI has also produced a letter of support for the U. of Leeds' bid to acquire Tof -LA-ICP-MS equipment to enable a more refined method of LA-ICP-MS analysis to be undertaken. We were offered the opportunity to get Tof -LA-ICP-MS analysis of some National Museums Scotland samples carried out in Switzerland but, due to Covid-19 and administrative issues, it was not possible to take up this kind offer. The conclusions of our project are being taken forward in a German bid for an international project on analysing prehistoric gold artefacts, which will - if successful - involve participation by some of our Network members. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Description | They have informed the museum display of a prehistoric gold artefact and they have enabled a Finds Liaison Officer to discuss in person an important recent find of a Middle to Late Bronze Age gold 'bulla' from Shropshire with the top experts in the field of artefact analysis and of Irish-style artefacts. They have been picked up by the press and used to give prominence to local museums. They have raised the profile of certain recent finds including the Carnoustie Late Bronze Age gold-bound spearhead, and have informed on future research directions for that artefact. The information passed on during the Visitor Guides training has been put to use in guiding thousands of visitors around the displays of prehistoric gold in the National Museum of Scotland. They have sparked new collaborations between Research Network members (e.g. in the procurement of a Breton gold sample by one Research Network member for analysis by another Research Network member in Germany) and have strengthened and deepened links between Research Network members. They have stimulated an outside body, the Southern Uplands Mining Organisation, to invite the Network to join in partnership to advance the study of gold exploitation in south-west Scotland. They have been incorporated in two current PhDs on Bronze Age goldwork, in the USA and in Australia. They have led to the decision to apply for a major AHRC-DFG grant for carrying out the Research Strategy as created by the Network. Over the course of 2020 this prospect worked up into an initial proposal and was discussed with Network member Professor Gregor Borg. In the end, the decision was taken not to go for that grant, but instead to have Network members collaborate on a different international gold analysis project led from Germany. The outcome from that application is awaited. Work has progressed on examining the sample of Helmsdale gold that was acquired through a cash donation from an Irish gold mining firm. The granules were taken to Germany by Network member Professor Gregor Borg and were counted, in preparation for analysis. Work on this project continues, albeit interrupted by Covid-19. The work by Professor Gregor Borg on sourcing the gold in the Nebra Bronze Age 'sky disc' - work that was undertaken prior to the commencement of our project, but which was integrated within our project as an exemplar of success - has been given a great deal of attention in 2020/21, not only by the various publications and lecture by Prof. Borg on the subject, but also by worldwide interest in an academic row that has broken out concerning the date of that artefact. As PI of the AHRC project, Dr Sheridan was interviewed twice by the New York Times (in 2020 and early 2021) to comment on the dispute, and was able to vouch for the value of the analytical work carried out by Network members Profs Borg and Pernicka. An example of the continuing interaction between Network members has been the sharing of a new book, 'Gold Occurrences in the UK - a gold prospector's guide' (2019) - with the Network by Lee Gary Palmer. The popularity of the 'Gold object of the week' feature on the National Museums Scotland website (https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections-research/our-research/featured-projects/prehistoric-gold/gold-object-of-the-week/) has endured, with new contributions added and more planned, especially now that Covid-19 restrictions are lifted. A major book by Project Advisory Board member Dr Barbara Armbruster on techniques of goldworking in Atlantic Europe was published in 2021, and this conveyed her depth of knowledge on the topic to a wide audience. The regular tweets on Irish prehistoric gold objects by Project Advisory Board member Mary Cahill have continued to attract a great deal of interest from the public and from archaeologists, keeping interest in the topic of the AHRC Gold project high. The project has sparked interest from a major publisher: the PI was approached by Springer Publications in 2021 to publish a book about the AHRC gold project and about Chalcolithic and Bronze Age gold in Britain and Ireland, and negotiations are underway. Awareness of the project on the part of the British Museum led to the involvement of the PI in a highly successful public seminar on gold at the British Museum on 13 May 2022, in connection with the major BM exhibition, 'The World of Stonehenge'. In 2022-23, interest in the project's findings has been expressed by: a) a member of the public who emailed the PI asking for information about it in March 2023; ii) a jeweller keen to replicate a gold lunula; he requested information on past analytical results, to inform his experimental work; iii) researchers who are undertaking compositional and use-wear analysis of Early Bronze Age gold artefacts in the Wiltshire Museum, Devizes. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | Provision of training to Treasure Trove Unit staff on identification of prehistoric gold artefacts found in Scotland |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Participation of the Scottish Treasure Trove Unit staff in the Edinburgh workshop in 2018, and in subsequent training provided by the PI and by Research Network member Dr Matt Knight, has enabled them to process more efficiently the casework relating to finds of archaeological gold objects in Scotland. |
| Description | Dalradian Gold Outreach Donation (NB this entry now moved to 'Collaboration') |
| Amount | £500 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Dalradian Gold Limited |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2018 |
| End | 03/2019 |
| Description | Assisting Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, with display of, and dissemination about, a gold lunula fragment from Brampton and the results of its compositional analysis |
| Organisation | Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | 1) Provision of information and graphics for display of a gold lunula fragment in Tullie House Museum 2) Co-authorship of article for the local archaeological journal (submitted March 2020) about the lunula fragment |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-authorship of article for the local archaeological journal (submitted March 2020) about the lunula fragment |
| Impact | 1) Display graphics for permanent display in Tullie House Museum 2) Article: D. Boughton and J.A. Sheridan (in press) An Early Bronze Age gold lunula terminal from Brampton, Cumbria. Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society 3) Poster about the Brampton lunula fragment, displayed at the Northern Prehistory conference, Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, 12 October 2019 (over 150 attendees; positive feedback). The conference was organised by the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeology Society with Tullie House Museum and Durham University. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Collaboration with Treasure Trove Unit |
| Organisation | National Museums Scotland |
| Department | Treasure Trove Unit National Museums of Scotland |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Network Member and Team member Dr Matt Knight was consulted as the expert curator on prehistoric gold artefacts to report on a new find of a Bronze Age biconical bead found in southern Scotland, March 2021. The expertise he developed as a result of his work on the gold project has been acknowledged by the fact that he has been asked to produce the official report for the Crown Office on this artefact. Dr Knight has also reported on several finds of penannular gold Bronze Age artefact finds from Scotland for the Treasure Trove Unit. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Treasure Trove Unit provided information about the find location, circumstances and the finder |
| Impact | Reports for the Crown Office and summary reports for the annual Crown Office Treasure Trove report |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Collaboration with Treasure Trove Unit |
| Organisation | National Museums Scotland |
| Department | Treasure Trove Unit National Museums of Scotland |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Network Member and Team member Dr Matt Knight was consulted as the expert curator on prehistoric gold artefacts to report on a new find of a Bronze Age biconical bead found in southern Scotland, March 2021. The expertise he developed as a result of his work on the gold project has been acknowledged by the fact that he has been asked to produce the official report for the Crown Office on this artefact. Dr Knight has also reported on several finds of penannular gold Bronze Age artefact finds from Scotland for the Treasure Trove Unit. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Treasure Trove Unit provided information about the find location, circumstances and the finder |
| Impact | Reports for the Crown Office and summary reports for the annual Crown Office Treasure Trove report |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Procurement of gold for experimental work, using £500 donated by Dalradian Gold, and its initial study at the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg |
| Organisation | Dalradian Gold Limited |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Thanks to the generosity of Dalradian Gold, we procured a sample of gold from a panner in Helmsdale in the far north of Scotland so that it could be used to assess how gold's composition can be altered by initial working, then recycling and mixing with gold from another source. Professor Gergor Borg of the Research Network then took the gold to the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg where the grains were counted, and we are preparing to raise the funds to get LA-ICPMS analysis undertaken to establish its composition. The gold will then be melted down and made into an artefact by Network member Dr Simon Timberlake, working at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, then re-analysed, melted down, mixed with gold from another source (provided by another member of the Research Network) and re-analysed, and the results will be published, we hope in the Journal of Archaeological Science |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of £500 to procure native gold from a British source |
| Impact | The work undertaken in Halle, and the plans for further work on this material, are informing our plans to prepare an application for an AHRC-DFG grant to carry out a major prehistoric gold project that carries out the Research Strategy that has resulted from the Network Grant |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Publication of the analysis of the Knowes of Trotty gold |
| Organisation | University of the Highlands and Islands |
| Department | Archaeology Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | As PI, I have collated the results of analyses undertaken in the past by two of the Network members (Drs Rob Chapman and Dr Chris Standish) of samples of the Early Bronze Age sheet gold discs from the Knowes of Trotty and prepared these, along with a narrative I have written explaining the significance of the results, for publication within a book edited by Professor Jane Downes of UHI Institite of Archaeology on her Orkney Barrows Project. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Professor Downes has written the rest of the book, including the report on her excavations at Knowes of Trotty that produced the fragments of sheet gold that were analysed. |
| Impact | None yet |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Creation and posting up of the National Museum Wales/Amgueddfa Cymru's Bronze Age Gold web gallery |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Bronze Age Gold Web Gallery presents information on the National Museum Wales/Amgueddfa Cymru's internationally-important collection of Bronze Age gold objects to a world audience through a professionally produced, fully-illustrative, informative web gallery, created by Research Network members Adam Gwilt and Dr Matt Knight, working with a NMW-AC production team. It was launched in February 2020 and is intended to raise the profile of the Museum's fine collection, to inform and entertain the public (and researchers, professional archaeologists and geologists, goldworkers and anyone interested in gold jewellery) and to spark creative responses and nurture increased interest. It is also intended to help educators by providing educational material. It is a very important repository of information. It is too early to assess its impact but initial web 'hits' show it is a popular site, and initial feedback is very positive. Its completion is a major achievement by the Network and has acheived one of the project's key aims. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://museum.wales/collections/bronze-age-gold-from-wales/ |
| Description | Creation of AHRC Project web pages on National Museums Scotland website, including 'Gold Object of the Week' feature |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Establishing a Project website (hosted at NMS) has ensured that many thousands of people from all around the world are finding out about the Prehistoric Gold initiative. The 'Gold object of the week' has been particularly popular and outside bodies including the Prehistoric Society have drawn attention to it. Finds Liaison Officers and the Treasure Trove Unit staff have reported delight with this feature as it helps them in identifications of prehistoric gold objects.During the Cardiff workshop, Prof Jacqui Mulville said that she wished that such a facility had been available to her when she was doing her own gold-related public outreach activities (including at major music festivals). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections-research/our-research/featured-projects/prehistoric-gold/ |
| Description | Creation of Project-related social media outlets - a facebook and twitter account (#prehistoricgold), and population of the NMS social media outlets with images and text |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The Research Network's facebook page and twitter account (plus inputs into the NMS facebook, twitter and Instagram pages) were intended to advertise developments with the project to the general public and to enable Research Network members to discuss gold-related issues among themselves. They have succeeded with that, with Network members posting photos of recently-found gold objects on which they seek information and advice, and others providing that information and advice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=prehistoric%20gold%20research%20network&epa=SEARCH_BOX |
| Description | Creation of international Prehistoric Research Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The creation of the international, interdisciplinary and inter-generational Research Network in order to exchange skills and expertise, and to create a Research Framework and Strategy, has proved to be a great success, with over 70 individuals joining and interacting with each other. The Network has expanded to include gold prospectors as well as geologists and archaeologists, and so it has an extensive reach. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections-research/our-research/featured-projects/prehistoric-gold/network-m... |
| Description | Display of poster about, and verbal description of, the Network's work on a fragment of an Early Bronze Age gold lunula found at Brampton, Cumbria, at the Northern Prehistory: connected communities conference, Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, 12 October 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Display of a poster, created by myself and Network member Dr Dot Boughton (formerly the Finds Liaison Officer for NW England and latterly consultant on the redisplay of the Tullie House archaeology displays), about the Network's work on the fragment of an Early Bronze Age gold lunula found by a metal detectorist at Brampton, Cumbria. In addition to displaying the poster, the Network's work was mentioned during Dr Boughton's lecture on 'Prehistoric treasures from Cumbria: Tullie House Museum's acquisitions and artefacts reported with the Portable Antiquities Scheme' and by myself during discussion periods. Impact: around 130 people attended this conference, organised by the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society with Tullie House Museum and the University of Durham. Feedback was universally positive and the profile of the work of the Network was raised with the general public, with professional archaeologists, with policy influencers and Finds Liaison staff, with the staff of Tullie House Museum and with researchers. There will also be a publication about this work in the next volume of the CWAAS Transactions. A copy of the poster can be provided to AHRC if required. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.tulliehouse.co.uk/collections/bronze-age-metalwork |
| Description | Distribution of publicity postcards about the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative at the Theoretical Archaeology Group conference, University College London, December 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Research Network member Dr Matt Knight handed out 100 of the AHRC project publicity postcards that had been created by PI Dr Alison Sheridan, and also spread the word verbally about the project. The postcode includes links to the initiative web pages and social media outlets, and the URL for Research Network member Dr Chris Standish's podcast about the project and his gold research (https://soundcloud.com/nationalmuseumsscotland/chris-standish-on-gold-and-its-analysis). The Theoretical Archaeology Group conference is the main annual conference regarding theoretical archaeology, and it attracts over 400 under- and postgraduate students, university academics, other professional archaeologists and independent researchers. The dissemination of the postcards, and the verbal explanation about the project, succeeded in raising widespread awareness of the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative and many participants expressed an interest in following the progress of the initiative. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/news-events/conferences/tag-2019 |
| Description | Engagement-focused website entry: addition of new entries in the National Museums' Scotland 'Gold Object of the Week' series |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Two new posts were added to the NMS 'Gold Object of the Week' series on the NMS AHRC Gold project website: one on the Douglas nugget, and the other on a Late Bronze Age gold hoard from Gaerwen, Anglesey. The intended purpose is to educate the public about gold and its use in prehistory, and the audience is worldwide. Many thousands of people have accessed these pages, and they will have contributed to the overall high degree of website user satisfaction reported for the NMS website |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections-research/our-research/highlights-of-previous-projects/prehistoric-... |
| Description | Introductory film about the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative, featuring an interview with PI Dr Alison Sheridan and Research Network member Dr Matt Knight, on the project facebook |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The intention was to introduce the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative to a worldwide general public, and to generate interest in it. To date, there have been 1179 views and one wholly unexpected outcome was that the PI was asked by an international school that taught English as a second language to use a clip from the film, to use in an English language examination. This will bring the project to the attention of a much larger international audience |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019,2020 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1899058120104237&external_log_id=d6702fbcd46ad6cc1be2e20b029cc7e4&... |
| Description | Lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Online delivery of lecture, 'Supernatural power dressing in Britain, 2500-1500 BC', to the Border Archaeological Society by Zoom. This was intended to show the audience (inter alia) the wealth of gold artefacts from the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, and highlighted the results of the AHRC gold project. Between 50 and 60 people were in the Zoom audience, and there was much positive feedback. A report on the lecture was subsequently published in the Society's Newsletter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Live streamed lecture about the AHRC gold project presented online to the Edinburgh University Archaeology Society, with additional audience members including a researcher on Iron Age gold. Intended to introduce a new set of students to the project. Around 25 attended and the lecture was well received, with a lively Q&A session afterwards. Positive feedback received afterwards from the organisers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/EdinburghArchSoc |
| Description | Lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Lecture by Network member Professor Gregor Borg on 'The Nebra sky disc, made from Cornish gold'. Purpose: to explain the research carried out by the lecturer and colleagues on sourcing the gold used in the Bronze Age 'sky disc' from Nebra, Germany. The audience consisted of members of the Geology Department of National Museum Wales/Amgueddfa Cymru plus other staff members from the Museum and invited interested parties. Impact: it sparked discussion and an appreciation of the importance of undertaking this kind of work on sourcing gold - work that is central to the AHRC gold project. It sparked interest in the work of the gold Network. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Seminar in the University of Oxford Archaeomaterials Seminars series, intended to raise awareness of the AHRC gold project among postgraduate researchers and staff at the School of Archaeology. Twenty one attendees, all highly engaged with the subject; the presentation sparked a long and useful Q&A and discussion session, and the seminar fitted in well with the aims of the Series in keeping members of the School of Archaeology and Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art abreast of developments in materials science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Lecture by Project member Dr Chris Standish, to the Joint Geological Associations (Cork, Galway and Ireland) on 'An Irish El Dorado? Searching for the source of Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age gold. Intended purpose: to raise awareness of Standish's research on the sourcing of gold artefacts. Well attended and a very popular and successful lecture, with a good Q&A session |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://geology.ie/?tribe_events=joint-geological-associations-lecture-20th-january-2021-an-irish-el... |
| Description | Lecture at international gold conference in Lugo, Spain |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of a lecture, 'Prehistoric gold in Britain's auriferous regions, 2450-800 BC: towards a coherent Research Framework and Strategy' at the Congreso Internacional Arqueologoxia do ouro at Lugo, Spain, 7-9 November 2018. This was delivered, with simultaneous Spanish translation, to an audience of around 130 people comprising archaeologists, museum staff, politicians, under- and postgraduate students and members of the public, and it was a high-profile event, with prestigious speakers (includng several members of the AHRC Gold research network). The proceedings were covered by the local press and Alison Sheridan was interviewed for Spanish TV. The proceedings have been released on YouTube, thereby reaching a global audience: it can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4pRTNxg7M8pCqH2b5uRoTH42pxuRrxBr. The conference not only enhanced the international profile of the AHRC project but also resulted in giving a Spanish student the opportunity to attend the third AHRC workshop which will be held in Dublin in July 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.arqueoloxiaouro.org/ |
| Description | Lecture at the European Association of Archaeologists' conference, Bern, September 2019, by PI Dr Alison Sheridan on 'Prehistoric gold in Britain's auriferous regions, 2450-800 BC: towards a coherent Research Framework and Strategy' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The lecture formed part of a session on 'BETWEEN KINGS, CHIEFTAINS AND SLAVES? NEW WAYS OF TRACING SOCIAL STRATIFICATION IN THE CENTRAL EUROPEAN EARLY BRONZE AGE' at the major international conference of the European Association of Archaeologists in Bern, Switzerland. The intention was to raise the profile of the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative among an international audience of archaeologists. The lecture met with overwhelmingly positive feedback and Professor Harald Meller of the Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte in Halle, Germany publicly hailed it as the most important prehistoric gold initiative to be carried out in Europe today. The lecture had particular impact since analysis by Research Network member Professor Gregor Borg had shown that Cornish gold had been exported to Germany around 1550 BC to make the famous Nebra Sky Disc. Professor Meller agreed to come and give a lecture about the Nebra Disc: normally he turns down requests to lecture, but he made an exception for our gold project. He also undertook to support plans to apply for an AHRC-DFG major grant to carry out the Research Strategy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.e-a-a.org/eaa2019 |
| Description | Lecture by Dr Alison Sheridan on 'Gold, Jade, Beaker People...and the tale of the Orkney Vole: the opportunities and challenges of Gestalt interdisciplinary archaeology' at National Museum of Denmark workshop on interdisciplinarity, May 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a lecture to a workshop on interdisciplinarity in archaeology, and it enabled Dr Sheridan to highlight the interdisciplinary nature of the AHRC Prehistoric Gold Research Network to an international audience. The participants were mostly senior experts in the field of archaeological science, and there was fruitful debate on how specialists in different disciplines can work together. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Lecture by Network Member Dr Dot Boughton (formerly Finds Liaison Officer for Cumbria and latterly consultant to Tullie House Museum) about the Early Bronze Age gold lunula fragment from Brampton within its broader Portable Antiquities Scheme context, at the Northern Prehistory: connected communities conference, Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, 12 October 2019. Lecture title: Prehistoric treaures from Cumbria: Tullie House Museum acquisitions and artefacts recorded with the Portable Antiquities S |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The purpose was to raise awareness of the work of the Research Network on a fragment of an Early Bronze Age lunula, found by a metal detectorist at Brampton, Cumbria, setting the find within the context of Portable Antiquitis Scheme finds in Cumbria. Around 130 people attended the conference, organised by the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society (CWAAS) with Tullie House Museum and the University of Durham. They comprised members of the general public, students and researchers, professional archaeologists, educators, policy influencers and Tullie House Museum staff. The lecture was accompanied by a poster about the Network's research into the lunula fragment, which was created by Dot Boughton along with the AHRC gold project PI Dr Alison Sheridan. Dr Sheridan also mentioned the results of the Network's work several times during discussions over the course of the day. The outcome was raised awareness of, and interest in, the object and the Network's work and feedback was universally positive. There will also be a publication about this work in the next volume of the CWAAS Transactions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.tulliehouse.co.uk/collections/bronze-age-metalwork |
| Description | Lecture by PI Dr Alison Sheridan on 'Prehistoric gold in Britain's auriferous regions, 2450-800 BC: towards a coherent Research Framework and Strategy' at the Antiquaries Dining Club at the Royal Scots Club, Edinburgh, 9 December 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The after-dinner lecture was intended to raise awareness of the AHRC prehistoric gold project to the members of the Antiquaries' Dining Club, who are distinguished retired professionals and academics with an interest in archaeology and history. The participants included a retired professional geologist and a retired professional archaeologist. The lecture was very well received and it sparked numerous questions and much discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Lecture by PI Dr Alison Sheridan on 'Prehistoric gold in Britain's auriferous regions, 2450-800 BC: towards a coherent Research Framework and Strategy' at the Later Prehistoric Finds Group conference, Crafting Identities: making and using objects in the Bronze and Iron Ages, National Museum of Scotland, 26 October 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Intended purpose: raise awareness of the AHRC prehistoric gold project and its Research Network to an international audience. Around 120 participants, ranging from undergraduate students to expert specialists and practising goldworkers, and including professional archaeologists and members of the public. Membership of the Later Prehistoric Finds Group is open to all and this is an effective networking body in its own right, disseminating information widely. The lecture received universally positive feedback and sparked discussion about both the manufacture of gold and its analysis. A new connection with a gold researcher was made for the Research Network: Dr Giovanna Fregni, use-wear specialist based in the USA, who has undertaken some use-wear analysis of Early Bronze Age lunulae and is keen to participate in the Network. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://laterprehistoricfinds.com/ |
| Description | Lecture by Research Network member Dr Barbara Armbruster, at the European Association of Archaeologists conference, Bern, September 2019, on Early Bronze Age goldwork in Atlantic Europe |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The intention of this lecture, which was presented alongside another lecture by the project PI about the AHRC initiative, in a session called 'BETWEEN KINGS, CHIEFTAINS AND SLAVES? NEW WAYS OF TRACING SOCIAL STRATIFICATION IN THE CENTRAL UROPEAN EARLY BRONZE AGE' at the European Association of Archaeologists conference in Bern, was to raise international awareness of the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative. Over 100 archaeologists from Europe and the USA were in the audience and the feedback was universally positive. Professor Harald Meller of the Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte, Halle, hailed the initiative as the most important gold project in Europe today and committed to presenting a lecture on the Nebra Sky Disc (the gold in which is from Cornwall) in Britain, and to supporting the planned bid for a major AHRC-DFG grant to carry out the Research Strategy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.e-a-a.org/eaa2019 |
| Description | Lecture by Research Network member Dr Tom Cotterell (Senior Curator of Mineralogy, National Museum Wales) on Gold in Wales at the Cardiff Scientific Society, 13 November 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The aim was to raise awareness of the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative through a lecture on 'gold in Wales', from a geological, archaeological and folklore perspective. The Cardiff Scientific Society mostly comprises active and retired scientific researchers but includes some students and members of the public. Around 90 attended the lecture. Feedback was universally positive, with a number of expressions of interest in the AHRC initiative. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.cardiffscientificsociety.org/media/CSS2019-2020.pdf |
| Description | Newsletter entry about the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative by Research Network member Dr Matt Knight, PI Dr Alison Sheridan and Co-I Dr Jana Horak |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The newsletter piece was intended to raise international awareness of teh AHRC prehistoric gold initiative among the members of the Later Prehistoric Finds Group. It succeeded in doing this and has attracted expressions of interest and admiration from among the readers |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dRRxwtJC5J3gVflWak3RdNBH3IZYBOYX/view |
| Description | Newsletter entry in PAST (Prehistoric Society newsletter), spring 2020, about the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative by Research Network member Dr Matt Knight, PI Dr Alison Sheridan and Co-I Dr Jana Horak |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Text and images on the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative is about to be published in the on-line and hard copy Spring 2020 edition of PAST, teh newsletter of the Prehistoric Society. This has a reach of many thousands of people around the world. The intention is to raise awareness of the initiative. Positive feedback and questions are anticipated. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.prehistoricsociety.org/publications/past/ |
| Description | Podcast by Research Network member Dr Chris Standish on prehistoric gold, the AHRC initiative and his own research on gold; hosted on the project website on the National Museums Scotland website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This was a professionally-produced podcast, produced for the Research Network by Win Scutt and featuring Research Network member Dr Chris Standish discussing prehistoric gold, the issues about sourcing gold artefacts, his own analytical research and the AHRC initiative. The aim is to raise awareness of the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative, and its existence has been analysed on the project webpage and social media outlets, and in 200 publicity postcards about the project produced by the PI, Dr Alison Sheridan. So far 139 people have listened to it, and efforts continue to raise awareness of its existnence (including via the Prehistoric Society facebook site, which reaches many thousands of people worldwide). Feedback by those who have listened is very positive. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://soundcloud.com/nationalmuseumsscotland/chris-standish-on-gold-and-its-analysis |
| Description | Presentation of poster on 'Prehistoric gold in Britain's auriferous regions, 2450-800 BC: towards a coherent Research Framework and Strategy' and distribution of publicity postcards about the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative at the Bronze Age Forum, Durham, November 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The purpose was to raise awareness of the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative among the many, international members of the Bronze Age Forum, and this was achieved not only through the display of the poster (created by PI Dr Alison Sheridan, and presented by Research Network member Dr Matt Knight) but also by the dissemination of over 100 postcards about the initiative, including details of Chris Standish's project podcast, https://soundcloud.com/nationalmuseumsscotland/chris-standish-on-gold-and-its-analysis. We succeeded in this. It sparked many expressions of interest in, and enthusiasm and admiration for, the initiative and since then, some participants have contacted Dr Knight asking about developments. This has sown the seeds of a long-standing interest in the initiative by an international set of researchers actively involved in the study of the Bronze Age. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://baf2019durham.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/finalprogrammebaf2019-2.pdf |
| Description | Public lecture at St Fagans Museum, Cardiff by Drs Alison Sheridan and Jana Horak: 'Unlocking the secrets of prehistoric gold'. 7 March, 7pm, followed by a guided tour of the prehistoric gold objects on display at St Fagans |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The intention was to raise awareness of the AHRC Prehistoric Gold initiative and inform the general public about gold as a raw material and as artefacts. While the audience was small, some people had travelled long distances, and the feedback on the lecture was universally positive, with the expertise and enthusiasm of the lecturers being highlighted. The visit to the gold display sparked much discussion, including discussion of the quality of the displays in comparison with the former 'Origins' gallery at Cathays Park. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://museum.wales/stfagans/whatson/10628/Prehistoric-gold--unlocking-the-secrets-of-our-early-tre... |
| Description | Public lecture by Dr Alison Sheridan, 'Early gold in Britain and Ireland', at the 'New Light on Old Metal' conference held in the National Museum of Scotland, 24 February 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This was a lecture at a public conference about ancient metal objects in Scotland, organised by National Museums Scotland. The aim was to showcase the results of recent research into silver, gold, bronze and iron to the general public. It was very well attended and very well received, with positive feedback. A direct consequence was that Alison Sheridan was asked to give an hour-long version of the lecture to the Trimontium Trust, which she did later in 2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.nms.ac.uk/media/1155950/new-light-on-old-metal-itinerary.pdf |
| Description | Public lecture by Dr Alison Sheridan, 'Supernatural power dressing in Wales, 2500-800 BC', at Oriel Ynys Mon Museum, Anglesey, as part of the Archaeology Festival, Anglesey, 15 June 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The lecture was part of a series of events in Anglesey's Festival of Archaeology in June 2018. It highlighted the AHRC Research Network and its work, as part of a consideration of gold ornaments as part of the symbols of power used in Bronze Age Wales. The audience of around 70 people consisted of a mixture of postgraduate and undergraduate students from the University of Central Lancashire, together with members of the general public. It sparked lively questions and discussion, and raised the profile of the AHRC project . Feedback was universally positive. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Public lecture by Drs Alison Sheridan and Jana Horak : 'Prehistoric gold: unlocking the secrets of our early treasures', in the National Museum of Scotland, 20 September 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was a public lecture delivered at the end of the September AHRC Research Network Workshop, attended by over 130 people, mostly members of the public but also professional geologists and archaeologists, and students of jewellery. It was designed to raise awareness of the project and of the wealth of prehistoric gold artefacts that exist in Britain's auriferous regions. Formal feedback sheets were provided and the feedback was universally very positive, with the lecture being described as inspirational and well communicated. It sparked plenty of questions and discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.nms.ac.uk/prehistoricgold |
| Description | Public presentation on prehistoric goldworking by master goldworker Brian Clarke, Dublin, July 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This public presentation by master goldworker Brian Clarke was intended to showcase his expertise in the methods, tools and techniques of prehistoric goldworking, to educate members of the general public as well as Research Network members. It included the broadcasting of clips showing him making an Early Bronze Age lunula and of a ribbon talk, and also included a lively Q&A session. The audience included jewellery students and staff from the Assay Office in Dublin, and the feedback was glowing: in particular, the jewellery students said they had been privileged to witness the work of such a gifted goldworker. The event gave the multi-disciplinary Research Network members the opportunity to get in-depth understanding of the manufacturing process. Those who were unable to attend asked if it could be repeated. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections-research/our-research/featured-projects/prehistoric-gold/research-... |
| Description | Publication of 'Gold object of the week' blog feature on the project webpage |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A series of blog posts, headed 'Gold object of the week', has been running on the project web page hosted by National Museums Scotland. Fourteen such posts have been produced to date and the production will continue indefinitely, even though the project has ended, because this is such a popular output. The intention is to raise awareness of the AHRC prehistoric gold initiative by highlighting a single prehistoric gold object (or hoard) and giving in-depth information about it; often this includes new analytical data, never previously seen. The posts have been written by Research Network members, including curators in local and regional museums. The featured objects come from all parts of Britain's auriferous regions. Many thousands of people have accessed these entries and the feature has been praised in the influential Prehistoric Society facebook page. One particularly important blog has concerned the Harlyn Bay lunulae. The museum at Truro where these are housed has closed, and the blog is one way of highlighting the importance of the museum's collection and the need to get it re-opened ASAP. Publicising finds in smaller museums has also proved to be a valuabel 'shop window', with the curator of the Ynys Mon museum on Anglesey having said that it greatly helped to raise the profile of his museum. Feedback has included praise from other museum curators, students, professional archaeologists and Finds Liaison Officers and Treasure Trove unit staff, all of whom find the authoritative information useful. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019,2020 |
| URL | https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections-research/our-research/featured-projects/prehistoric-gold/gold-obje... |
| Description | Research Network Workshop, University College Dublin, July 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The workshop brought together 24 members of the Research Network to consider principally goldworking traditions, tools and techniques. It was held over one and a half days in University College Dublin, ending with a public presentation by master goldworker Brian Clarke, and it set out to clarify the part of the Research Framework and Strategy that deals with this aspect of prehistoric gold. It also aimed to share skills, information and expertise across disciplines and age groups, and to support museum curators who present information about prehistoric gold, and to support the individuals who administer new finds of gold artefacts in Ireland. It amply succeeded in all of its aims and had a particularly welcome impact on students and early career researchers, one of whom reported that she had learned more about prehistoric gold in the 1.5 days of the workshop than during the whole period of her PhD work. Moreover, the curator at National Museums Northern Ireland reported that it had been of invaluable assistance to him in his curatorial work. The event was enhanced by a generous special tour of the National Museum of Ireland's gold gallery and a reception organised by NMI and hosted by Dr Maeve Sikora, Keeper of Antiquities, at which world-class gold experts Professor George Eogan and Mary Cahill, emerita Keeper of Antiquities at NMI (and Steering Group member), talked about Irish prehistoric gold. The enthusiastic facebook and twitter reactions by Research Group members brought the event to the attention of, among others, the Irish consulates in Scotland and in Denmark. The workshop and associated events served to deepen and strengthen the links of the Research Network members and to create long-lasting relationships which have indeed continued past the end of the project. National Museum Ireland expressed keeness to continue supporting the work of the Research Network. And one key outcome was the decision to apply for a major AHRC-DFG grant to carry out the Research Strategy. The application will be made by PI Dr Alison Sheridan together with Research Network Professor Gregor Borg, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, in order to expand the arena of research to cover all British prehistoric gold down to the end of the Iron Age, setting it firmly within its European background. Professor Harald Meller of the Landesmuseum fuer Vorgeschichte, Halle, has pledged to support this application and initial discussions with both AHRC and DFG have been very positive and encouraging. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections-research/our-research/featured-projects/prehistoric-gold/research-... |
| Description | Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Over 100 people, including members of a jewellery society, attended @Goldwork of the Stonehenge Era and Beyond' on 13 May 2022 at the British Museum as part of a programme of events linked to the major exhibition, The World of Stonehenge. It was timed to coincide with London Craft Week, and received a great deal of publicity. The panel consisted of the PI (Dr Alison Sheridan), Brian Clarke (expert goldworker), Mary Ann Ochota (presenter) and Ian Richardson (PAS representative) and the PI showcased the findings of the AHRC project. Much discussion was sparked and the feedback was exceptionally positive. The BM were delighted with the success of the evening. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.londoncraftweek.com/events/gold-work-of-the-stonehenge-era-and-beyond/ |
| Description | Training of Volunteer Guides at National Museums Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Drs Alison Sheridan and Matt Knight of the AHRC project provided a training event for the National Museums Scotland Volunteer Guides, in the form of a lecture and a Q&A session concerning the Scottish Chalcolithic and Bronze Age gold objects on display in the Early People gallery of the National Museum of Scotland. This was delivered to 18 Volunteer Guides so that they could improve the parts of their public tours that present the prehistoric Scottish gold objects that are on display in the Early People gallery. Indirectly, then, the output of this event reached an international audience of many thousands of people since the Volunteer Guides provide regular public tours. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Workshop 1 (National Museum of Scotland, September 2018): Gold in Britain's auriferous regions, 2450-800 BC: the Big Picture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | 30 participants, comprising members of the international, interdisciplinary Gold Research Network, together with members of the Treasure Trove Unit and of the Department of Scottish History and Archaeology, National Museums Scotland, met for 1.5 days to discuss the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age gold artefacts of Britain's auriferous regions within their broader national and international context; gold sources; goldworking; and the meaning and value of gold in Britain, 2450-800 BC, in order to provide information and content for the Research Framework and Research Strategy documents that the Network is tasked to produce. The workshop also provided training and skills sharing between experts and early career researchers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Workshop No. 2, 'From ore to finished product', at National Museum Cardiff |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | This workshop brought together 20 members of the Research Group (including from outside of Britain) to focus on the distribution and characterisation of gold as a raw material, the physical and compositional changes it undergoes with working, alloying, mixing and recycling, and the analytical methods used to characterise gold and to help understand how it was worked. Much fruitful interdisciplinary exchange of expertise took place, and new collaborations were sparked by individual participants. The value of the workshop lay in setting out the complexities in gold geology and its analysis on the one hand, and the complex transformations that can occur during the use-life of gold on the other. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://museum.wales/stfagans/whatson/10628/Prehistoric-gold--unlocking-the-secrets-of-our-early-tre... |