To view any of our past lectures please visit our YouTube channel.
Castell Nadolig and the Penbryn Spoons: A new investigation
by Dr Toby Driver FSA and Prof Andrew Fitzpatrick FSA
The Penbryn spoons are among the most ornate examples of a rare group of Iron Age artefacts known from Britain, Ireland and northern France. They were unearthed in 1829 at Castell Nadolig hillfort in west Wales, probably from a disturbed burial, and are on display in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Now, a new investigation of their findspot has revealed a wealth of hidden archaeology.
The Penbryn spoons are made of bronze and are large and flat, about the size of an adult’s palm. Usually found in pairs, less than 30 individual spoons are known and only 5 have been discovered since 1923. One spoon usually has a cross incised in its bowl. The other spoon is plain but has an offset hole. Given their rarity it has been argued that these spoons were specialist tools used by a religious specialists, perhaps Druids – for Divination.
The findspot of the Penbryn spoons, Castell Nadolig, is an Iron Age hillfort on the coastal plain of Ceredigion. It is the second largest hillfort in the county and in a landscape of cropmarks it is one of the few to survive as an upstanding earthwork. In 2018, the discovery of an Iron Age chariot burial in Pembrokeshire provided a timely impetus to begin a fresh investigation of Castell Nadolig. Geophysical and earthwork surveys have revealed a wealth of new data. At least six ring ditches or barrows have been discovered, including three within the hillfort. This is the first firm evidence of multiple burials within and close to the monument and may provide a context for the nineteenth century finds, as well as enhancing our wider understanding of the ceremonial use of hillforts in Iron Age Wales.
This event will be both in person at Burlington House and online. Please select the appropriate ticket below.
If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]