Bush Barrow is a site of the early British Bronze Age (ca. 2000 BC

20th century BC

The 20th century BC is a century which lasted from the year 2000 BC to 1901 BC.-Events:* 2000 BC: Arrival of the ancestors of the Latins in Italy.* 2000 BC: Town of Mantua was presumably founded.* 2000 BC: Stonehenge is believed to have been completed....

), at the western end of the Normanton Down Barrows

Normanton Down Barrows

Normanton Down is a Neolithic and Bronze Age barrow cemetery located south of Stonehenge in the county of Wiltshire, England. It dates from between 2600 and 1600 BC and consists of a Neolithic long barrow and Bronze Age round barrows.- Excavations :...

 cemetery. It is among the most important sites of the Stonehenge

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...

 complex. It was excavated in 1808 by Sir Richard Colt Hoare

Richard Colt Hoare

Sir Richard Colt Hoare, 2nd Baronet FRS was an English antiquarian, archaeologist, artist, and traveller of the 18th and 19th centuries, the first major figure in the detailed study of the history of his home county, Wiltshire.-Career:Hoare was descended from Sir Richard Hoare, Lord Mayor of...

 and William Cunnington

William Cunnington

William Cunnington was a pioneering English antiquarian and archaeologist of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. His work centred on excavating the barrows of Salisbury Plain. The first recorded excavations at Stonehenge were done by William Cunnington & Richard Colt Hoare in 1798...

. The finds are displayed at Wiltshire Heritage Museum

Wiltshire Heritage Museum

The Wiltshire Heritage Museum, formerly known as Devizes Museum, is a museum, archive and library and art gallery in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The museum was established and is still run by, the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society , a registered charity founded in 1853. After...

 in Devizes

Devizes

Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...

.

The barrow contained a male skeleton with rich funerary goods, including a large 'lozenge'-shaped sheet of gold, a sheet gold belt plate, three bronze daggers, a bronze axe, a stone macehead and bronze rivets. One bronze dagger has a hilt that was decorated by as many as 140,000 gold pins set to make a herringbone pattern. The finds have been called "Britain's first Crown Jewels" belonging to the "king of Stonehenge"..

The design of the artifact known as the Bush Barrow Lozenge, and the smaller lozenge, has been shown to be based on a hexagon construction. Detailed analysis of the design has shown both the shape and the decorative panels to have been created by repeating hexagons within a series of three concentric circles (each framing the series of smaller decorative panels). The precision and accuracy displayed by the work demonstrates both a sophisticated tool kit and a sound knowledge of geometric form. The myriad of minute fine gold wire pins set within the dagger handle (above) is further testimony to the sophisticated level of skill and expertise of contemporary Bronze Age artisans. A similar gold lozenge from Clandon Barrow

Clandon Barrow

right|thumb|200px|The Clandon Barrow gold lozengeClandon Barrow is a very large bowl barrow dating from the Bronze Age, which overlooks the village of Martinstown, near Dorchester in Dorset, and which lies on the same ridge as Maiden Castle. It was excavated by Edward Cunnington in 1882. Gold...

, in Dorset, used a decagon in its design.

The barrow is one of the "associated sites" in the World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

 covering Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites

Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites

Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Wiltshire, England. The WHS covers two large areas of land separated by nearly , rather than a specific monument or building. The sites were inscribed as co-listings in 1986....

(Cultural, ID 373, 1986).

External links

• Rethinking Bush Barrow (britarch.ac.uk)
• http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/galleries/index.php?Action=3&obID=89&prevID=9
• http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/stonehengeinteractivemap/sites/normanton/04.html
• http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba104/feat1.shtml
• http://sarsen56.wordpress.com/solve-this/?preview=true&preview_id=51&preview_nonce=062c619c27