Wilsford G7
primary name: Wilsford G7
other name: RCH: Normanton 156
archaeology / bronze age
SiteName: The Normanton Group,
Parish: Wilsford,
County: Wiltshire,
LocalityType: bowl/bell barrow,
LocalityType: round barrow,
Coordinates: NGR:ST11794124
Bowl/ Bell (?) barrow with primary inhumation (head to West) in
shallow cist with a decorated collared urn at its feet, a grape
cup, 2 spherical gold beads, striped and plain amber pendants,
shale beads, including a double-axe bead, and fossil encrenites.
author: Martin, Andrew, Dr.
No. 156 is a fine bell-shaped barrow, 102 feet in base diameter,
and 10 feet in elevation above the plain. It contained within a
very shallow cist, the remains of a skeleton, whose head was
placed towards the west, and a deposit of various elegant little
trinkets ; the most remarkable of which are two gold beads,
engraved of their original size in TUMULI PLATE XXV. No. 7, 8.
The first is of an oblong form, large, and ornamented with
circular rings ; the other is much less, and of a globular form
; they appear to have been formed by first making a wooden bead,
and then covering it with two thin plates of gold, which were
overlapped in the centre, and made fast by indentation ; for in
none of these golden articles have we ever distinguished any
marks of solder, or any other mode of fastening than by
indentation. The large bead is perforated lengthways, the
smaller one in two places on one side. Besides these beads of
gold, there were several trinkets of jet, amber, etc. and a flat
piece of amber, No. 9 ; two other pieces, the one plain, the
other marked with transverse lines, both perforated ; also two
round beads of amber ; a jet bead of a globular form, but much
compressed, No. 10; another with convoluted stripes, No. 11 ; an
article of jet, singular in its shape, No. 12 ; and some curious
beads of stone, one of which, No. 13, seems to be the joint of a
petrified echinus. Besides the above articles, the most
remarkable of which are engraved in TUMULI PLATE XXV. we found
another beautiful little grape cup, similar to those before
described in TUMULI PLATES XI. and XXIV. in high preservation.
There was also a drinking cup placed at the feet of the
skeleton, which was unfortunately broken, but afterwards
repaired.
RCH 156: primary skeleton, head to W., with grape cup, amber
pendants, shale beads including a. double-axe bead, gold
spherical beads, encrenites (from Frome area? KPO), and richly
decorated collared urn which was at feet and perhaps contained
food offering. AW i. 202 pl. xxv; DMCat. i. 140-2 145a, 146,
236, 280; Wessex grave 72. Hoare described this, apparently in
error, as a bell barrow.