Bronze chisel, faience bead and a burnt bone pin

This bronze chisel, faience bead and burnt bone pin were found in a cremation burial at Balneil at New Luce in Wigtownshire. The burial dates from between 2000 and 1550 BC.

The pin and possibly the bead have been burnt as part of the cremation rites. The pin had held together the garment, perhaps a shroud, worn by the deceased on the pyre. The chisel, however, was not burnt, and was deposited later with the other remains.

By around 1750 BC, in mainland Scotland, cremation had become the favoured funerary custom. Cremated remains were gathered from the funeral pyre, sometimes cleanly, sometimes mixed with pyre debris, and usually placed in a large pottery urn.

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