Bronze Age mining tools could be discovered for the first time in Europe

BRONZE Age mining artefacts held by the Royal Cornwall Museum have been carbon dated and are believed to be over 3,600 years old, providing an unprecedented insight into the mining techniques and daily lives of our ancestors.

Recent scientific research on an oak spade, along with evidence from the examination of a bit of antler, has signaled that these items are the first Bronze Age mining tools found in Europe. This supports the growing evidence of tin working in Cornwall dating back over 3,600 years.

Both were found in the Carnon Valley, near Truro, when alluvial tin works were resumed in the 19th century, radiocarbon dating indicating they are from the British Bronze Age (2400-800 BC).

The oak wooden shovel is understood to have been found in 1815 and is made from a single piece of wood, unlike medieval wooden shovels which come in two pieces.

It has been radiocarbon dated to around 3,200 years old by the Project Ancient Tin Team, led by Dr Alan Williams from the Department of Archeology at Durham University, with a grant from the Royal Institute of Archaeology. Found around 1855, the 48cm long antler drop is around 3,600 years old, or Early Bronze Age, and is the first evidence for tin and/or alluvial gold mining in the British Isles. Examination reveals numbering marks carved into the side, which could mean recording the work of prehistoric miners.

The research and dating of this piece was led by Dr Simon Timberlake of the Early Mines Research Group. Small amounts of gold also found in the Carnon Valley have been chemically fingerprinted to the gold in the famous Nebra Sky Disc, an artifact believed to be the world’s oldest star map.

The inclusion of Cornish gold and tin in this disc, which was found in Germany and is considered one of the most important archaeological finds of the 20th century, suggests that prehistoric Cornish mining and trading practices may have been pioneered in the European era of bronze. Bryony Robins, the museum’s artistic director says: “Cornwall and mining are already intertwined, but this important find shows just how much mining took place in Cornwall and how well developed some of the tools of the trade were even then. time.”

The museum’s Mineral Gallery reopens in early July, the first phase of the museum’s transformation which continues into 2025 and heralds an exciting new era for this 200-year-old institution, home to more than a million artefacts.

“It will share Cornwall’s mining heritage with our visitors and showcase the world-renowned collection of rocks and minerals in a more accessible way – and of course the role that mining continues to play in Cornwall,” added Ms. Robins.