Foggerthwaite Burnt Mound forum 1 room

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>So when were pans invented then, Baz?

Err......

<baz looks at floor and mutters> "The Bronze Age?"

I.e., the Late Bronze Age, I think (in the British Isles).

Here`s one from Ireland, from c700 B.C. :

http://www.shee-eire.com/Arts&Crafts/Celtic/Metalwork/Cauldrons/Page1.htm

It`s an interesting question and I`d like to know the answer.

The burnt mounds in my area (Birmingham) have been dated to between c2000 - 1000 B.C. and I presume that they pre-date the introduction of cauldrons.

When cauldrons were first introduced, wouldn`t they have been a high-status utensil for a considerable time?......I ask myself, but would like to hear other`s thoughts on the matter.


baz

Wowser! The Dowris Hoard is an amazing thing. I can't remember exactly what was found, but cauldrons featured heavily. The LBA in Ireland was later than the equivalent in GB - Ireland got all the 'Ages' a quite a bit later, except the Neolithic, which seems to be almost simultaneous.

The cookware into the early Iron Age seems to resemble some of the Neolithic pottery in places over here, so even the bronze cauldrons may have been for show/ceremony only, even in the LBA. The Dowris hoard certainly included some whoppingly huge bronze horns, to which a slighty sad story is associated. One bloke tried to blow one of them. He managed a little note first time and then tried again. He blew a blood vessel on the second attempt and died on the spot. No one has tried since!