Archaeologists say find near Stonehenge is ancient goldsmith’s toolkit

Archaeologists say a collection of polished stone found in a burial mound is a 4,000-year-old toolkit for goldsmiths.

The axes and cobbles found in the grave have been reanalyzed and found to have small traces of gold and wear marks.

The bronze age burial mound was excavated in 1802 and attracted attention for its large deposit of animal bones, which were thought to be the costume of a shaman.

The other grave goods, which included flint cups, two broken battle axes and a copper alloy awl, had not received the same amount of attention as the other grave goods.

Thanks to new technologies unavailable a few decades ago, he said, "it means that a lot of these objects have got new stories to tell us that we haven't previously known how to find".

Five of the stone tools were found to have traces of gold in them. Rubs and scratches were used to flatten and polish the precious metal.

Archaeologists believe that the goldsmith may have used the tools to make items of jet, amber or wood that were covered with thin sheets of gold.

They think the awl and flint cups could have been used to mix the two substances.

According to Harris, the grave goods are associated with the Wessex culture, which flourished in the aftermath of nearby Stonehenge.

He said that the goldworker is special. They have materials that are thousands of years old and they will be someone who stands out. A person who dresses differently to other people in their country can do amazing things. They are not the same and special.

Four Neolithic axes, which were already several thousand years old when buried with the goldworker, were found to have been used to prepare bronze age gold.

Harris wants to know if they are heirlooms that have been handed down through generations, or if they were deposited in rivers and found next to the cobbles that have been turned into stone tools.

The objects have an amazing tale to tell. I would love to know all the things they have seen and the story of how something came to be so special.

The findings can be found in the journal.

The lead author, Rachel Crellin, described the findings as "really exciting" The public was blown away by the 4,000-year-old goldwork on display at the World of Stonehenge exhibition. The stone toolkit that was used to make gold objects was revealed by our work.