Rare lead ingots found in Bronze Age hoard

"The hoard consists of four socketed axeheads, one fragment of the cutting edge of an axe, one socketed woodworking gouge, one fragment of a sword blade, a fragment from a bun ingot and three rectangular lead ingots. Most of the objects were broken or had missing parts, and were likely buried for safety before they were melted down and reused. The gouge is the only bronze piece that was still complete when it was buried."

"Lead was a necessary element in bronze casting alloys, and it is found in increasing proportions by the Late Bronze Age. It is extremely rare, however, to find objects made entirely out of lead, and even rarer to find lead ingots. A handful of lead objects from Late Bronze Age hoards are believed to have been raw materials a flat sheet, irregular pieces of casting waste but deliberately shaped rectangular cakes like these have never been found before."

A Late Bronze Age metal hoard found near Dereham, Norfolk dates to about 950–800 B.C. and contains four socketed axeheads, one axe cutting-edge fragment, a socketed woodworking gouge, a sword blade fragment, a bun ingot fragment, and three rectangular lead ingots. Most items were broken or incomplete and appear to have been buried for safekeeping prior to recycling. The woodworking gouge was intact at burial. Lead appears increasingly in Bronze Age casting alloys, but objects composed entirely of lead and deliberately shaped rectangular lead ingots are extremely rare. The lead ingots represent an unusual raw material form with implications for Late Bronze Age metallurgy.

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