Bronze Age - National Museum Cardiff
2200BC - 800BC
As copper and gold, then bronze, were discovered and new metalworking technologies spread across Britain, cultural values changed and powerful new social forces were born.
The Capel Isaf Armlets in the Origins gallery are beautiful examples of some of the earliest gold objects from Wales (dating from 1600-1300 BC).
Their timeless simplicity undoubtedly show off the skills of the Bronze Age gold-worker.
High-status was displayed during this period by adorning the body with wealth and exotic, colourful things just like these.
Positions of influence were increasingly held by people who could access metal ores and who possessed the magical skills of metalworking.
Those who controlled the exchanges of valuable metal objects became particularly powerful.
For nearly 1500 years, these factors would decide a person’s rank within the status-conscious societies of the Bronze Age.
