Rillaton Barrow
Rillaton Barrow | ||
---|---|---|
Native name OS grid reference SX 26021 71911 | | |
Area | Bodmin Moor | |
Built | Bronze Age | |
Governing body | Cornwall Heritage Trust | |
Owner | English Heritage | |
Official name | The Rillaton Barrow, 500m NNE of The Hurlers stone circles | |
Designated | 10 February 1958 | |
Reference no. | 1010233 |
Rillaton Barrow (Cornish: Krug Reslegh)[1] is a Bronze Age round barrow in Cornwall, UK. The site is on the eastern flank of Bodmin Moor in the parish of Linkinhorne about four miles (6 km) north of Liskeard.[2]
Rillaton Barrow was excavated in 1837 and found to contain a centrally-placed
Rillaton Gold Cup
Most notably, the burial contained the Rillaton Gold Cup, a biconical gold vessel, about 90 mm high,[a] with a handle attached with rivets.[3] The cup resembles a late Neolithic (approx 2300 BC) ceramic beaker with corded decoration and until 2007 was thought to date to a much later period of c. 1650-1400 BC. In 2001 the similar Ringlemere Cup was found which has a similar corded style termed grooved ware, though it was (and remains) crushed nearly flat. Subsequent theories that it might have been deposited as a votive offering have now been abandoned in favour of it being part of the original grave goods in the Ringlemere barrow.
The cup shows an
After their discovery in 1837 the finds were sent as
A legend associated with the cup is that Rillaton is haunted by the spirit of a druid priest, who offers travellers a drink from an undrainable cup. One night a traveller threw the cup's contents at the ghost, and was later found dead in a ravine.[13]
See also
Notes
- ^ 85 mm according to the British Museum website,[3] 95 mm according to Needham et al.[4]
- ^ Ian Richardson, Treasure Registrar for the Portable Antiquities Scheme has been quoted as saying "One of them – either King George IV [sic] or William IV – was rumoured to have used it to store cufflinks on their mantelpiece".[10] Philip Payton related the story that after being lost for many years the cup turned up "in use by King George V as a receptacle for his collar studs!"[5]
References
- ^ Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF) : List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel. Cornish Language Partnership.
- ISBN 978-0-319-23146-3
- ^ a b c The Rillaton Gold Cup British Museum. Archived October 2, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Needham et al., 58
- ^ ISBN 978-1-904880-05-9
- ^ Christie, P. M. "Cornwall in the Bronze Age" in: Cornish Archaeology; 25
- ISBN 978-0-19-537984-6
- ^ Needham et al., 53-63
- ^ Needham et al., 60-63
- ^ Sarah, Jackson (2 January 2015). "Archaeological Treasure: Portable Antiquities Scheme finds at the British Museum". Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ Needham et al., 61, and catalogue entry
- ^ "Minions Cornwall - Guide Attractions Accommodation". cornwall.com. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ISBN 9780340165973.
Sources
- Needham, Stuart; Parfitt, Keith; Varndell, Gillian (Eds) The Ringlemere Cup: Precious Cups and the Beginning of the Channel Bronze Age, 2006, British Museum Research Publication 163, ISBN 978-086159-163-3
External links
- "The Rillaton Cup". Royal Collection Trust. Inventory no. 69742.