Artifacts Reflect Bronze Age Hair Care in Wales

News July 12, 2023

(@ Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales)
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Wales Hair Ring
(@ Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales)

BARRY, WALES—The Guardian reports that an investigation in South Wales conducted ahead of a road construction project has uncovered a Bronze Age cremation burial dated to between 1300 and 1150 B.C. A 1.5-inch-long fragment of a partially burned wooden comb with about eight teeth was recovered from the burial. “We’re always finding bits of metal and other artifacts but finding something like a comb is unique,” said archaeologist Mark Collard of Red River Archaeology Group. A gold hair-ring carved with a chevron pattern measuring less than one-half inch in diameter was also found. “The gold ring is a very early, well made and a small example of its type, offering new insight into the development of hair-rings as a form of early jewelry across Britain and Ireland,” commented Adam Gwilt of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. To read about another gold ring found in Wales that might have been used to hold hair, go to "Artifact."

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