Collar

This gold collar, also called a lunula, was probably found in Lanarkshire or Ayrshire. It is a high status ornament, either made in Ireland or imported from there, sometime between 2300 and 2000 BC.

The collar was made by hammering out the gold to a thin sheet. It was then decorated with incised lines and punched dots forming repetitive patterns of cross-hatching and triangles.

Gold collars or lunulae were originally made in Ireland, but were imported and copied throughout Britain, where they certainly functioned as symbols of power. Some of the decorative patterns were adopted from beaker pottery.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-036-516-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.FE 63
• Date: Between 2300 and 2000 BC
  
• Material: Gold; chased on both sides with circular lines, diagonals and triangles
  Lunula
  
• Dimensions: Weight 1055 grains
  
• What: Lunula
  
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• Description: Early Bronze Age gold lunula, probably from Lanarkshire or Ayrshire
  
• References:
  • Clarke, D.V., Cowie, T.G., & Foxon, Andrew (eds). Symbols of power at the time of Stonehenge. Edinburgh: National Museums of Antiquities of Scotland, 1985, pp 183-6, 188-90, 261. 
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