Artisans of Dartmoor - Book - Page 12
was a cylindrical lidded basket sewn with tree bark
fibres and intricately stitched together with cow hair.
In the basket was a set of jewellery comprising the
necklace, a bracelet or armband woven from cow hair
and decorated with tin studs, and two pairs of turned
wooden discs believed to have been worn as labrets in
the ears and lips. Underneath was a woven nettle fibre
sash, edged with piping and fringed with decorative
leather calfskin triangles.
Describing the collection as “unparalleled”, Andy
later explains that the artefacts would’ve taken hours
to make. “They are remarkable for their craftsmanship
and show that Bronze Age people were just as skilled
in crafts as we are today – perhaps even more so
because they didn’t have machines. They used a lot of
different crafting techniques, some of which were very
sophisticated, and had a huge amount of knowledge.
These items totally transform our understanding of
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how skilled Bronze Age people were, what they made
and what they were wearing.”
The wooden discs were a particular revelation.
“Their importance cannot be overstated, as they are
by far the earliest evidence for woodturning in Britain
and Ireland, pre-dating the next evidence by at least
half a millennium,” Andy says. The clothing items
are also unique because they are the only Bronze
Age pieces of apparel to exist in northern Europe,
outside Belgium.
For the artisans featured in this book, who all live
and work within 20 miles of Whitehorse Hill, this
discovery provides a rare insight into the origins of
their craft and a tangible link to kindred Bronze Age
makers. And it shows that in a constantly evolving
world, some things never change: human beings will
always feel compelled to create.
Origins
