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{{short description|Bronze age vessel}}
[[Image:RinglemereCup-BritishMuseum-20070829.jpg|thumb|upright|The Ringlemere Cup – photographed on [[29 August]] [[2007]].]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox artifact
| name = Ringlemere Cup
| image = Ringlemere EBA Cup (FindID 49483).jpg
| image_caption =
| material = Gold
| created = 1700-1500 BC
| discovered = [[Ringlemere barrow]] in [[2001 in archaeology|2001]]
| location = [[British Museum]]
}}
The '''Ringlemere Gold Cup''' is a [[Bronze Age]] vessel found in the [[Ringlemere barrow]] near [[Sandwich, Kent|Sandwich]] in the English county of [[Kent]] in [[2001 in archaeology|2001]].


==Description==
The '''Ringlemere Gold Cup''' is a [[Bronze Age]] vessel found in the [[Ringlemere barrow]] near Sandwich in the English county of [[Kent]] in [[2001]] by a [[metal detector]]ist. Although badly crushed by recent plough damage it can be seen to have been 14cm high with corrugated sides. The cup resembles a late Neolithic (approximately 2300 BC) ceramic beaker with [[Corded ware|corded decoration]] but dates to a much later period. Only five similar cups have been found in Europe, all dating to the period between 1700 and 1500 BC. the cup is similar to the [[Rillaton gold cup]] found in [[Cornwall]] in 1837.
The body of the cup was created by hammering a single piece of gold, with the handle cut from a flat strip of gold and attached by rivets.<ref>Needham et al., p.38</ref> Although badly crushed by recent plough damage{{cn|date=November 2022}} it can be seen to have been 14&nbsp;cm high with corrugated sides. The cup resembles a late [[Neolithic]] (approximately 2300 BC) ceramic beaker with [[Corded Ware culture|Corded Ware]] decoration, but dates to a much later period.


It is thought that the cup was not a [[grave goods|grave good]] however but a [[votive offering]] independent of any inhumation, which was placed at the centre of the barrow in approximately 1700 - 1500 BC. No contemporary burials have in fact been found at the site, although later [[Iron Age]] ones have since been found, along with a [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] cemetery.
It is thought that the cup was not a [[grave goods|grave good]], but a [[votive offering]] independent of any inhumation, which was placed at the centre of the barrow in about 1700–1500 BC. No contemporary burials have been found at the site, although later [[Iron Age]] ones have since been found, along with a [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] cemetery.


Only seven similar gold "unstable handled cups" (unstable because round-bottomed) have been found in Europe, all dating to the period between 1700 and 1500 BC. The Ringlemere cup is most similar to the other British example, the [[Rillaton gold cup]] found in [[Cornwall]] in 1837. The other examples are two from Germany, two from Switzerland, one now lost from [[Brittany]], and an unprovenanced, perhaps German, example. Two other silver cups and, from Britain, two [[amber]] and some [[shale]] cups all share the same basic shapes (see [[Hove amber cup]]). The finds in Britain are in the approximate [[Wessex]] area, and on the continent near the Rhine or the Channel coast, suggesting that the vessels, though probably all made fairly locally to their find spots, related to a specific cross-channel trading zone.<ref>Needham et al., Sections 8, "conclusion" and 9, "catalogue"</ref>
The finder, Cliff Bradshaw, reported the find of the cup to the local [[coroner]]'s office, and through the [[Portable Antiquities Scheme]] and the [[Treasure Act 1996]] the cup was recorded and declared to be [[Treasure trove|treasure]] in 2002. It was bought by the [[British Museum]] for the amount of £270,000 (roughly US$520,000), with the money paid split between Mr. Bradshaw and the Smith family who own Ringlemere Farm. The money to secure the cup for the nation was raised through donations by the [[Heritage Lottery Fund]], the [[National Art Collections Fund]] and the [[British Museum Friends]]. This also enabled the site to be properly excavated, revealing a previously unsuspected funerary complex of Early Bronze Age date (approximately 2300 BC) on the site


[[File:Ringlemere Cup detail.jpg|thumb|220px|alt=Side view showing lip decoration|Side view showing rivets and [[pointillé]] lip decoration.]]
⚫
The cup was number 10 in the list selected by experts at the [[British Museum]] for the [[2003 in television|2003]] [[BBC Television]] [[documentary]] [[Our Top Ten Treasures]] presented by [[Adam Hart-Davis]].


==Discovery, purchase and display==
⚫
From 14 May 2004 until 13 January 2006 the cup appeared in the Museum's "Buried Treasure" exhibition on [[treasure trove]], both at the Museum itself and touring (to the National Museum & Gallery of Wales at Cardiff, Manchester Museum, the Hancock Museum at Newcastle, and the Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery). On its return to London, it was on temporary display in Room 2 of the British Museum, with the Rillaton cup, until 17th October 2006. From 17th October to 26 February 2007 it was on temporary display in [[Dover Museum]], closer to its find-spot, and it is now back in the Prehistory galleries at the British Museum.
The cup was discovered by [[metal detector]] Cliff Bradshaw on 4 November 2001.<ref name=BM>{{cite web |url= https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1344081&partId=1&searchText=ringlemere+Cup&bibliography=7772&page=1 |title=Collection Online – The Ringlemere Cup |work=The British Museum |access-date=20 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4181475/Bronze-Age-gold-cup-uncovered-by-metal-detector.html |title=Bronze Age gold cup uncovered by metal detector|first= David|last=Derbyshire |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=5 April 2002 |publisher=[[Telegraph Media Group|TMG]] |location=London |issn=0307-1235 |oclc=49632006 |access-date=20 November 2016}}</ref> He reported the find to the local [[coroner]]'s office, and through the [[Portable Antiquities Scheme]] and the [[Treasure Act 1996]] the cup was recorded and declared to be [[Treasure trove|treasure]] in 2002. It was bought by the [[British Museum]] for £270,000 (then roughly US$520,000), with the money paid split between Bradshaw and the Smith family who own Ringlemere Farm.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3606481/If-it-whines-it-must-be-gold.html |title=If it whines it must be gold… |first= Elizabeth|last=Grice |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=15 November 2003 |publisher=[[Telegraph Media Group|TMG]] |location=London |issn=0307-1235 |oclc=49632006 |access-date=20 November 2016}}</ref> The money to secure the cup for the nation was raised through donations by the [[Heritage Lottery Fund]], the [[National Art Collections Fund]] and [[The British Museum Friends]].<ref name=BM />

After discovery of the cup, the site was excavated between 2002 and 2005 revealing a history starting with activity in the [[Mesolithic#Europe|Mesolithic]] period, a number of [[Neolithic Europe|Neolithic]] features and finds, a funerary complex of Early Bronze Age date (approximately 2300 BC), and an Anglo-Saxon cemetery.<ref>Needham et al., chapter 2</ref>

⚫
The cup was number 10 in the list of British archaeological finds selected by experts at the [[British Museum]] for the [[2003 in television|2003]] [[BBC Television]] [[Documentary television series|documentary]] ''[[Our Top Ten Treasures]]'' which included an interview with Bradshaw.

⚫
From 14 May 2004 until 13 January 2006 the cup appeared in the museum's "Buried Treasure" exhibition on [[treasure trove]], both at the museum itself and touring (to the National Museum & Gallery of Wales at Cardiff, Manchester Museum, the Hancock Museum at Newcastle, and the Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery). On its return to London, it was on temporary display in Room 2 of the British Museum, with the Rillaton cup, until 17 October 2006. From 17 October to 26 February 2007 it was on temporary display in [[Dover Museum]], closer to its find-spot, and it is now back in the Prehistory galleries at the British Museum.<ref name=BM />

==See also==
* [[Gold working in the Bronze Age British Isles]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
*Needham, Stuart; Parfitt, Keith; Varndell, Gillian (Eds) [https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/publications/research_publications_series/research_publications_online/the_ringlemere_cup.aspx ''The Ringlemere Cup: Precious Cups and the Beginning of the Channel Bronze Age''], 2006, British Museum Research Publication 163, {{ISBN|978-086159-163-3}}
*{{citation |last=Hobbs |first=Richard |year=2003 |title=Treasure : finding our past |publisher=British Museum |isbn=978-0-7141-2321-9 }}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
⚫
*[http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/t/the_ringlemere_gold_cup.aspx British Museum: The Ringlemere gold cup]

*http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Press_notices/archive_2003/dcms117_2003.htm
*https://web.archive.org/web/20070205165651/http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Press_notices/archive_2003/dcms117_2003.htm
*http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2011880,00.html

⚫
{{British-Museum-object|The Ringlemere gold cup|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/t/the_ringlemere_gold_cup.aspx}}

{{British Museum}}

{{coord|51.2647|N|1.2865|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}


[[Category:Treasure troves of Bronze Age Britain]]
[[Category:Treasure troves of Bronze Age Britain]]
[[Category:Prehistoric objects in the British Museum]]
[[Category:Prehistoric objects in the British Museum]]
[[Category:Gold objects]]
[[Category:Drinkware]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Kent]]
[[Category:Treasure troves in England]]
[[Category:2001 in England]]
[[Category:Metal detecting finds in England]]
[[Category:Bronze Age art]]
[[Category:2001 archaeological discoveries]]
[[Category:Ancient art in metal]]

Revision as of 18:45, 29 May 2024

Ringlemere Cup
MaterialGold
Created1700-1500 BC
DiscoveredRinglemere barrow in 2001
Present locationBritish Museum

The Ringlemere Gold Cup is a Bronze Age vessel found in the Ringlemere barrow near Sandwich in the English county of Kent in 2001.

Description

The body of the cup was created by hammering a single piece of gold, with the handle cut from a flat strip of gold and attached by rivets.[1] Although badly crushed by recent plough damage[citation needed] it can be seen to have been 14 cm high with corrugated sides. The cup resembles a late Neolithic (approximately 2300 BC) ceramic beaker with Corded Ware decoration, but dates to a much later period.

It is thought that the cup was not a grave good, but a votive offering independent of any inhumation, which was placed at the centre of the barrow in about 1700–1500 BC. No contemporary burials have been found at the site, although later Iron Age ones have since been found, along with a Saxon cemetery.

Only seven similar gold "unstable handled cups" (unstable because round-bottomed) have been found in Europe, all dating to the period between 1700 and 1500 BC. The Ringlemere cup is most similar to the other British example, the Rillaton gold cup found in Cornwall in 1837. The other examples are two from Germany, two from Switzerland, one now lost from Brittany, and an unprovenanced, perhaps German, example. Two other silver cups and, from Britain, two amber and some shale cups all share the same basic shapes (see Hove amber cup). The finds in Britain are in the approximate Wessex area, and on the continent near the Rhine or the Channel coast, suggesting that the vessels, though probably all made fairly locally to their find spots, related to a specific cross-channel trading zone.[2]

Side view showing lip decoration
Side view showing rivets and pointillé lip decoration.

Discovery, purchase and display

The cup was discovered by metal detector Cliff Bradshaw on 4 November 2001.[3][4] He reported the find to the local coroner's office, and through the Portable Antiquities Scheme and the Treasure Act 1996 the cup was recorded and declared to be treasure in 2002. It was bought by the British Museum for £270,000 (then roughly US$520,000), with the money paid split between Bradshaw and the Smith family who own Ringlemere Farm.[5] The money to secure the cup for the nation was raised through donations by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the National Art Collections Fund and The British Museum Friends.[3]

After discovery of the cup, the site was excavated between 2002 and 2005 revealing a history starting with activity in the Mesolithic period, a number of Neolithic features and finds, a funerary complex of Early Bronze Age date (approximately 2300 BC), and an Anglo-Saxon cemetery.[6]

The cup was number 10 in the list of British archaeological finds selected by experts at the British Museum for the 2003 BBC Television documentary Our Top Ten Treasures which included an interview with Bradshaw.

From 14 May 2004 until 13 January 2006 the cup appeared in the museum's "Buried Treasure" exhibition on treasure trove, both at the museum itself and touring (to the National Museum & Gallery of Wales at Cardiff, Manchester Museum, the Hancock Museum at Newcastle, and the Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery). On its return to London, it was on temporary display in Room 2 of the British Museum, with the Rillaton cup, until 17 October 2006. From 17 October to 26 February 2007 it was on temporary display in Dover Museum, closer to its find-spot, and it is now back in the Prehistory galleries at the British Museum.[3]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Needham et al., p.38
  2. ^ Needham et al., Sections 8, "conclusion" and 9, "catalogue"
  3. ^ a b c "Collection Online – The Ringlemere Cup". The British Museum. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  4. ^ Derbyshire, David (5 April 2002). "Bronze Age gold cup uncovered by metal detector". The Daily Telegraph. London: TMG. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  5. ^ Grice, Elizabeth (15 November 2003). "If it whines it must be gold…". The Daily Telegraph. London: TMG. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  6. ^ Needham et al., chapter 2

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ringlemere Cup.
This article is about an item held in the British Museum. The object reference is The Ringlemere gold cup.

51°15′53″N 1°17′11″E / 51.2647°N 1.2865°E / 51.2647; 1.2865

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