On the Beach: New Discoveries at Harlyn Bay, Cornwall

What is it about?

In 1990 a stone covered pit containing a Trevisker Ware vessel was eroding from the cliffs at Harlyn Bay and excavated. The vessel contained cremated bone from several individuals with some animal bone, quartz pebbles and a small bronze pendant. A radiocarbon date on the cremated bone fell between 2120-1880 cal BC and is a valuable addition to the small number of securely dated Early Bronze Age burials in Cornwall with metalwork associations. This early date also makes a contribution to the debate on the sequence of Trevisker Ware as the vessel, of gabbroic clay, has a band of incised chevron decoration. Lipid residue analysis showed traces of ruminant dairy fat. This paper examines the significance of unmounded burial sites in Cornwall and ssesses the importance of Early Bronze Age burials around Harlyn Bay which have produced an unusually wide range of artefacts.

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