Object description
Discovered in Ballyscullion, Co. Antrim in 1880, this cauldron dates to the Late Bronze Age. The body and rim are made from eight pieces of beaten bronze. These have been hammered until they are extremely thin (1mm) and riveted together. Conical-headed rivets run in horizontal lines on the exterior and are both functional and decorative.
The handles are made from four pieces of bronze including a cast circular ring and sheet bronze shaped into tubes. Riveted to the body are eight bronze stays which provide extra support for the rim.
Only one of the stays remained intact. This indicates that the cauldron must have held a considerable quantity of food or drink. On this cauldron and others, there is evidence of repairs which demonstrates their value.
Ballyscullion Cauldron/Metal,Copper Alloy,Bronze/1st millennium BC/The Hunt Collection/PD
Origins and uses
Around 800 BC, cauldrons such as these were used across Europe. They were the prized possessions of members of the elite. It is thought that the cauldrons were used in drinking and feasting ceremonies.
However, bronze cauldrons were in existence much earlier. Numerous example of bronze cauldrons have been discovered on the island of Crete. These were made by the Minoan civilisation between approximately 1500 and 1450 BC. Just like the Ballyscullion cauldron, the Minoans hammered bronze sheets and joined them with rivets. The copper used to make them had to be imported to Crete, indicating that it was a luxury item used by the elite. There are signs of repair to the Minoan cauldrons, similar to the Ballyscullion cauldron. This reinforces the idea that the cauldrons were highly valued.
The Ballyscullion cauldron, and others in Ireland, have been discovered buried in waterlogged areas such as bogs. It has been said that they were intended as votive offerings to the gods. Therefore, they had a functional and symbolic purpose.
Minoan Bronze cauldron,1500-1450BC.
Credit: Heraklion Museum. https://www.heraklionmuseum.gr/en/exhibit/bronze-cauldron/
Sources
Gerloff, Sabine. “Bronze Age Class A Cauldrons: Typology, Origins and Chronology.” The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 116, 1986, pp. 84–115. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25508908. Accessed 27 Oct. 2024.
Heraklion Museum. https://www.heraklionmuseum.gr/en/exhibit/bronze-cauldron/
The Hunt Museum Essential Guide. Scala Publishers. 2002.
