The detectorist found a unique and perfectly preserved spearhead from the Bronze Age

A spear with preserved traces of a wooden part from the late Bronze Age was found on the island of Jersey. It was dated to the 11th century BC; is the only complete and at the same time the largest undamaged spear ever found in the Channel Islands.
A spear was found by detector Jay Cornick last summer on a beach in Gorey Bay. At the time of the discovery, he did not know how old the spear was. He thought it might be related to Mont Orgueil (Gorey Castle from the 13th century, built on the site of an originally prehistoric fortress), which stands not far from the beach. He reported the finding to a Jersey liaison officer, from whom it was taken over by experts from the Jersey Heritage Trust, subjected to cleaning and subsequent analysis.

The curator of the Jersey Heritage Archaeological Department, Olga Finch, said the find was "unique and very rare in terms of its size and the fact that it is intact." She added: "This spearhead is completely different from everything we have seen so far. We are very interested in whether it was imposed as part of a ritual or a sacrificial gift. Our next step is to work with other experts; we want to search the site carefully to see what new stories we can learn about the Bronze Age in Jersey. ”

Similar spearheads from this period have been discovered on the island in the past, they were almost always part of a larger ensemble, but were either deliberately broken into pieces or very worn. They are also much smaller. The exceptional condition of the spear is also remarkable. It was so well preserved that it was really easy to clean.

During the cleaning process, preserved wood remains were discovered inside the putty. Experts managed to carefully remove them and send them to the York Archaeological Trust for radiocarbon dating. Experts at YAT identified wood as babyka maple, which was a common type of wood used to make tools and weapons during this period. The wood itself was dated between 1207 BC and 1004 BC

Museum conservator Neil Mahrer said he had never experienced anything like it: "Seeing this spear in one piece was incredible. The wood inside the spear was so well preserved that we could use it for an analysis that determined it to be 3,000 years old. ”

Most of the tools at the time were made of wood or stone, which is why the metal spears from that time are generally much smaller. In fact, it was a very precious treasure, not a common utility. Archaeologists believe that the spear was placed in the ground purposefully during a ritual or ceremonial ceremony shortly after it was cast. The spear is now permanently on display at the Jersey Museum & Art Gallery

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