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Details
LOT 0384
Ritually Sacrificed British Medieval Bronze Cauldron with the 'Murder' Weapon
1300-1400 A.D.
12 1/4 in. (6 kg total, 31 cm).
Comprising: a large bulbous bronze cauldron with three radiating applied iron legs (one detached), squat in profile with flared and chamfered rim; substantial iron axehead with slightly flared blade, thickened butt with socket; the cauldron discovered inverted with the axehead underneath.
Provenance
The assemblage found whilst searching with a metal detector in Cumbria, South Lakeland, UK on Friday 23 February 2023.
Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report nos.LANCUM-DA7471, LANCUM-F50F1D.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Published
Seal, C., A Curious Cumbrian Cauldron, News and Views, Treasure Hunting Magazine, June 2024, p.10 & 11.
Footnotes
The find and its likely meaning have been discussed at length with Vincent van Vilsteren, the former Curator of the Drents Museum in the Netherlands, who has studied many instances of cauldrons which have been ceremonially buried after sustaining extensive damage. The ex curator's PhD is currently in process and will concentrate on the ritual aspects of late medieval bronze cauldrons.
The suggested interpretation here is that the cauldron was ritually 'killed' or put beyond use, and the weapon used to effect this was interred with it. This would be a rare (if not unparalleled) case in Europe of the deposition of the weapon alongside the item which the ritual was supposed to 'retire'.
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LOT 0384
Ritually Sacrificed British Medieval Bronze Cauldron with the 'Murder' Weapon
Sold for (Inc. bp): £624
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