3,000-year-old Shropshire pendant bought by British Museum

The bronze-age sun pendant, or bulla, dating back to 1,000 or 800BC, was found in the county in 2018 by a metal detectorist.

It has now been bought by the British Museum with the help from Art Funad and the American Friends of the British Museum. It will be lent to Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery for its first public display.

Experts say that the bulla is evidence of the importance of the sun in people's beliefs during the bronze age.

Neil Wilkin, bronze age curator at the British Museum, said: "This is one of the most significant discoveries from this period - the bronze age or first age of metal - to be made in Britain for more than a century.

"The elegant form and brilliantly executed decoration of the sun pendant was accomplished with an ingenious skill. It tells us how important the sun - and its path through the sky during the course of the day and the year - was to people’s beliefs during this period.

"Its preservation is such that is difficult to believe that 3,000 years have passed between leaving its maker’s hand and being placed inside a museum case."

The pendant was found well-preserved in peaty soil, decorated on all its surfaces with semi-circles and geometric motifs.

One side shows a stylized sun – a rare and hugely significant addition to the art and iconography of bronze age Britain. It is 3.6cm high and 4.7cm wide, is only the second ever found in Britain. The other - now lost - was discovered near Manchester in 1722.

The quality of the object was so high that experts of the day believed it must be Roman. It was last recorded in 1806 before disappearing from sight. There are, however, parallels in Ireland – where six similar but not identical gold pendants – have been discovered.

Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum, said: "I am also personally delighted that the first public display of the object will be in Shropshire. This loan represents the start of a long-term partnership with our colleagues at Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery and will broaden our links with museum partners in the region."

Fay Bailey, manager of Shropshire Museums, said: “The Shropshire Marches Bulla is an unparalleled find of international significance. The discovery of this exceptional object and associated finds helps to deepen our understanding of bronze age Britain and confirms that Shropshire has an important story to tell.

"We are delighted to have the opportunity to establish a long-term partnership with colleagues from the British Museum whose commitment to our region will be invaluable as we redisplay our galleries and set prehistoric Shropshire in a wider, national context.”