A RARE 3,000-year-old gold pendant discovered by an Oswestry man has gone on display at the British Museum.
The sun pendant – or bulla as it is also known – dates between 1000-800BC in the late Bronze Age period and was found in the Shropshire Marches in May 2018 by metal detectorist Bob Greenaway.
It will form part of The World of Stonehenge exhibition which opens in London on Thursday, February 17.
Neil Wilkin, curator of The world of Stonehenge at the British Museum, said: “The mystery of Stonehenge is a source of enduring fascination for every generation who visit or catch a glimpse of its distinctive silhouette.
"This landmark exhibition will begin to reveal its secrets by setting this great monument in the context of a period of radical change on these islands, and by bringing together exceptional objects that shed new light on its meaning and significance. It is an exhibition about the people who built and worshipped at the monument, but it is also a story that transcends the Salisbury Plain and even Britain and reaches far into continental Europe.
"Stonehenge’s eternal mystery and significance can only be fully understood by charting the surrounding world that made it possible.”
Our latest Curator’s corner video heads to @WiltshireMuseum in Devizes, where Director David Dawson talks you through a group of fascinating objects excavated from Bush Barrow that will be on display in our #TheWorldOfStonehenge exhibition: https://t.co/S32giM0Q09
— British Museum (@britishmuseum) February 11, 2022
The pendant was previously on display at the Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery at the end of last year as part of the British Museum’s National Programmes.
It is the only example of a British bulla that the museum currently has, and is believed to be the most significant piece of Bronze Age gold metalwork found in over a century in Britain.
The British Museum exhibition will see over 430 objects brought together from across Europe in a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle on the history – and mystery – of the ancient monument.
It is the UK’s first ever major exhibition on the story of Stonehenge. Key loans coming to the British Museum include: Britain’s most spectacular grave goods which were unearthed in the shadow of Stonehenge; elaborate ancient gold hats depicting the cosmos; and the astonishing wooden monument – dubbed Seahenge - that recently emerged after millennia from the sands of a Norfolk beach.
Stonehenge was built 4,500 years ago around the same time as the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. This landmark exhibition will set the great monument in the context of one of the most remarkable eras on the islands of Britain and Ireland, which saw huge social and technological revolutions, alongside fundamental changes in people’s relationships with the sky, the land and one another.
It runs until July 17.
For tickets and more click here.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here