Rights Holder: Royal Institution of Cornwall
CC License: 
Image use policy
Our images can be used under a CC BY attribution licence (unless stated otherwise).
VESSEL
Unique ID: CORN-86552A
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published 
Fragment of a pottery body sherd from a large Bronze Age urn or food vessel. The exterior is undecorated so that dating within the 2nd millennium BC is difficult. The fabric is a gabbroic (clay that weathers over the gabbro stone on the Lizard) with inclusions of pale feslpar, dark augite and mica.The colour of the fabric is a light brown interior to more oxidised orange exterior. The curvature of the upper edge of the sherd suggests that the original diameter of the vessel would have been about 400 mm in diameter. The fabric, thickness and curvature is typical of what is locally termed Trevisker ware, after a site in St Eval where it was first discovered. These vessels often have the decoration in the upper half so this sherd may have come from the lower half of the vessel.
Nowakowski (1991) illustrates an example of a large vessel with a similar diameter from Trethellan, Newquay, on page 111, fig.42, no.15, which is dated from the Middle Bronze Age, c.1500-1200 BC.
Gossip (2014) illustrates a similar vessel found at Boden on the Lizard on page 32, fig.24, no.2, which has been radio-carbon dated from c.1400-1190 BC.
Class: Trevisker ware
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: BRONZE AGE
Subperiod from: Early
Period from: BRONZE AGE
Subperiod to: Middle
Period to: BRONZE AGE
Date from: Circa 1800 BC
Date to: Circa 1100 BC
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 59 mm
Width: 62 mm
Thickness: 14.6 mm
Weight: 73.7 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Tuesday 5th May 2015 - Tuesday 5th May 2015
Personal details
This information is restricted for your access level.
Materials and construction
Primary material: Ceramic
Manufacture method: Hand made
Completeness: Fragment
Spatial metadata
Region: South West (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
District: Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
Parish or ward: Madron (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SW4733
Four figure Latitude: 50.1429742
Four figure longitude: -5.54236741
1:25K map: SW4733
1:10K map: SW43SE
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gossip, J. | 2014 | A Multi-Period Prehistoric Site and Fogou at Boden Vean | Bristol | Cornwall Archaeological Society | 32, fig.24, | no.2 | |
| Nowakowski, J. | 1991 | Trethellan Farm, Newquay: The excavation of a lowland Bronze Age settlement and Iron Age cemetery | Redruth | Cornwall Lithographic Printers Ltd. | 111, fig.42, | no.15 |
Similar objects
Find number: CORN-BBA689
Object type: VESSEL
Broadperiod: BRONZE AGE
Pottery body sherd of a storage vessel, likely from the Middle Bronze Age (c.1600-1200 BC) but without decoration to confirm a date within th…
Workflow: Published
Find number: CORN-EC87C5
Object type: VESSEL
Broadperiod: BRONZE AGE
Pottery body sherd of a large urn or food vessel decorated with a parallel pair of a double-plaited or twisted cord impressions running horiz…
Workflow: Published
Find number: CORN-0B41D5
Object type: VESSEL
Broadperiod: BRONZE AGE
Large pottery body sherd of a large urn or food vessel decorated with a single line of a double-plaited or twisted cord impression running al…
Workflow: Published
Timeline of associated dates
About Us
About our Site
Find us
The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG.
T: +44(0) 20 73238618