Gaby
The stones discovered near Stonehenge more than 200 years ago have turned out to be tools used to work gold.
British archaeologists reached that conclusion after re-examining Bronze Age stone artifacts housed at the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, England. These artifacts were excavated in 1801 from the Upton Lovell burial mound G2a.
Until now, researchers didn’t know what the stones were used for.
The burial mound is an earthen hill located near Stonehenge. Previous excavations revealed the remains of two individuals. Burial artifacts were found alongside them.
A team of researchers studied the findings as part of the Beyond the Three Age System project. They discovered that the stone items were an ancient toolkit for working gold.
The individual buried near Stonehenge appears to have been a highly skilled craftsman who specialized in making gold objects. The burial included a ceremonial cloak adorned with bone fragments, the BBC reported. That suggested the individual may have been a spiritual leader — one of the few in the early Bronze Age who understood metalworking.
How the Artifacts Were Identified
Dr. Kristina Tsoraki from the University of Leicester, the lead author of the study, analyzed wear on the artifacts. She found traces of gold on the surface of five of them, Heritage Daily reported.
Joining Dr. Tsoraki was Dr. Chris Standish from the University of Southampton, an expert in early Bronze Age goldworking. He used an electron microscope with an energy-dispersive spectrometer to analyze the residues and estimate their age.
The analysis showed the stone tools were used for various purposes — some as hammers and anvils, others for smoothing materials. The residues matched characteristics typical of Bronze Age gold objects found across Great Britain.
The project leader, Dr. Oliver Harris, said that thanks to advanced technologies, the team learned how these objects were made and what they were used for. The study also demonstrated the enduring significance of museum collections.
