A nationally significant Bronze Age find has gone on permanent display in Skipton Town Hall, offering a fascinating insight into the lives of people who lived in North Yorkshire more than 4,000 years ago.
The gold lunula was found by a metal detectorist in a stream near Grassington in 2023.
It has been acquired by the Craven Museum, at Skipton Town Hall, which is operated by North Yorkshire Council. It is now the centre piece of the museum’s Bronze Age collection.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for arts and culture, Cllr Simon Myers, said:
“The importance of this find cannot be overstated and to have it on permanent display in the county where it was found is a real coup.
“It will help foster pride in the area's contribution to national history and will make our understanding of this subject more tangible and relevant.
“I think all will find this lunula both beautiful and thought provoking, speaking as it does to the extent of cross-cultural connections and trade some 4,500 years ago.”
Lunulae are some of the earliest and most impressive examples of goldworkers’ craft, dating to about 2000 BC.
While the Grassington area is well known for its Iron and Bronze Age sites, nothing similar has been found which so visually points to the wealth and status of these communities.
The finder was searching the area with permission from the landowner. After recovering the item, he reported it to the Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) at the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service where it was assessed and researched.
Craven Museum registered an interest in acquiring the piece and set about applying for grant aid to cover the cost.
Staff were helped by Dr Deborah Hallam, an expert in the prehistory of the Yorkshire Dales, who provided a letter of support and gave advice as to how the gold lunula would complement the museum’s existing collection and increase knowledge of the Bronze Age locally.
After a period of further research at the British Museum in London, the lunula travelled back to North Yorkshire some two years after it was uncovered and has now been installed on a custom-made mount in the museum.
Its purchase was funded with support from the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, Art Fund and the Friends of Craven Museum.
Craven Museum curator, Charlotte Craig, with the gold lunula which has gone on permanent display in Skipton.
Craven Museum’s curator, Charlotte Craig, said:
“This is only the second complete, or almost complete, lunula found in Yorkshire and is believed to be the only one on permanent display in the north of England.
“Gold lunula are very rare finds in England, and so this adds greatly to our pool of knowledge about Bronze Age goldworking and the networks of culture and trade that must have existed.”
The techniques to make gold lunulas came from Ireland, so finding such an item in North Yorkshire confirms that our ancestors must have had connections hundreds of miles across the Irish Sea to exchange knowledge and materials.
As there are no known sources in North Yorkshire, the gold is thought to have come from Cornwall, Wales or Ireland.
Ms Craig said:
“When the gold lunula first arrived at the museum I was struck by how beautiful it was and how the people who made and used it must have been so sophisticated and well-connected.
“I felt such a connection to those people who lived here more than 4,000 years ago and how they must have felt about an item that was so important to them.
“It was hard to take my eyes off it – I’m sure it must have had a similar magnetic quality at the time!”
Dr Neil Wilkin, European Bronze Age curator at the British Museum, said he was delighted that the Craven Museum had acquired the piece. He said:
“The display of the lunula at the Craven Museum will allow its fascinating story to be told in its local setting.
“The British Museum is looking forward to collaborating with curators at the Craven Museum and local archaeologists to help reveal more about this spectacular find and the reasons why such a prized object was given up 4,000 years ago.”
For more on the Craven Museum and its exhibits visit https://skiptontownhall.co.uk/craven-museum/
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