Description

Summary: A short, damaged, biconical bead of jet found in a collered urn, a secondary burial, Bell barrow, Site III, Snail Down, Collingbourne Kingston, Wiltshire.

Research results

A biconical jet bead found with a secondary cremation in bell barrow Collingbourne Kingston G8, excavated by Nicolas Thomas in the 1950s. These beads form part of a small necklace set that had been deposited with the cremation of a probable child; the burial, contained in an upright collared urn, had been placed in a small pit and covered by a cairn of flints containing a jet pendant.

This object was examined as part of the research published in Ritual in Early Bronze Age Grave Goods; a six-year research project carried out by Professor John Hunter and Dr Anne Woodward and funded by the Leverhulme Trust. Aided by a large number of other specialists the pair undertood an exhuastive study examining over 1000 objects held in 13 museums across the country in order to provide an extensive overview of burial practices in the period and identify regional practices.