Late Bronze Age founder's hoard, Grays (EHER 1656)

A Late Bronze Age founder's hoard comprising around 298 pieces was discovered in a cavity in the chalk at Grays in 1906. Significantly, as well as containing axes, axe fragments, knives, spears and swords, the hoard also included ingots and three hammers thought to have been used for working sheet metal.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. Bronze Age founder's hoard discovered in a cavity in the chalk at Grays in 1906. It consisted of around 298 pieces, mainly axes, axe fragments, knives, spears and swords. <1>-<4> It is now in Colchester Museum Accession No. 2362.11. <5> May 2011. X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis. The analysis for this project was limited to 81 available pieces that were specifically related to metal working. The objects examined included three hammers, a ribbed cauldron staple, 73 ingot fragments, and four chisel fragments. The inclusions of metalworking tools and ingots define the Grays Thurrock hoard as a Late Bronze Age founder’s hoard. The dating of the hoard is substantiated by the inclusion of socketed axes and Ewert Park and Carp’s Tongue sword fragments. In addition, the XRF analysis shows that the objects were cast from a leaded bronze that is typical of Late Bronze Age hoards of this region. From the condition and maintenance of the three hammers in this hoard, it would appear that these hammers were used for the secondary stages of sheet metal work: hammering forged metal into smoother sheets. Ingots included in founders’ hoards tend to be pure or nearly pure copper, but the ingots contained in the Grays Thurrock Hoard contain varying amounts of tin and some contain lead. There are two possible explanations for this. The first being that these could be the remains of bronze objects that had been melted down, cast as bun ingots, and then fragmented. The second explanation is that ingots were cast from specifically chosen alloys that would have had different colours. These then could be chosen for casting various objects with the knowledge of the alloy content based on the colour. See <6> for further details.