Amesbury's Bronze Age Archer - Archaeology Magazine Archive


Amesbury's Bronze Age Archer	June 18, 2002
by Jasmin Chua

Well, it's a good headline for a tabloid newspaper!" said Andrew Fitzpatrick when asked about the "King of Stonehenge" rumors surrounding Britain's richest Early Bronze Age burial found in May near Amesbury, about three miles southeast of Stonehenge.

"I plead guilty as charged of trailing [the moniker] to the newspapers," said Fitzpatrick, the project manager for Wessex Archaeology. "But this was clearly an elder in the community, perhaps even a king or tribal leader. He would have lived near Stonehenge and other great religious sites in the vicinity at about the time the stone circles were erected."

The man in the 4,300-year-old grave was identified as an archer, according to archaeologists, because of the presence of stone arrowheads and stone wristguards that protected the arm from the bowstring.

It is the quality and quantity of the finds which makes this discovery unique. As it is unusual to have more than two or three artifacts in UK Bronze Age finds, graves that contain seven or eight objects are considered "rich." The "Amesbury Archer's" grave contained an unprecedented 100 objects, including three copper knives (one is considered rare,) gold earrings (again, very rare), and five Beaker pots. "His mourners had access to more material goods than anyone of this time that we have ever seen before," Fitzpatrick said. "Some of them are rare and exotic things."
Click on image for larger version on www.wessexarch.co.uk with links to artifacts. (Wessex Archaeology)

Since archaeologists do not have evidence of religious ceremonies or funeral feasts that might have taken place, there are no clues to the Amesbury Archer's identity except for the way he was buried. The Amesbury Archer was estimated to have been between 35 and 50 years of age when he died. "I'm sure that more [information] will emerge as we make a detailed study of the man and the objects buried with him," Fitzpatrick said.

For more information, see Wessex Archaeology's Amesbury Archer website.