Turf Knowe Urn, Bronze Age

Details

This Bronze Age food vessels urn was found during an excavation of an early Bronze Age burial cairns at Turf Knowe in the Breamish Valley, Northumberland. 

Made with great love and care, the original urn held the remains of an infant who died around 4000 years ago and was laid to rest surrounded by the beauty of the Cheviot Hills. We have recreated this urn here in our Northumberland workshop with the same care and attention as the original potter. 

The vessel gets its moniker of ‘Food Vessel’ due to an early suggestion that these types of vessels held food for use by the deceased in the afterlife. However, there is little direct evidence support this theory, and in truth, we know very little about the day to day lives and rituals of the Bronze Age people who first laid this stunning vessel into the ground around 4000 years ago.

The originals pots are now on display in an exhibition at the National Park Visitors Centre, Ingram Valley, which is only a stone's throw away from where this authentically crafted replica was created.

 Materials

Smoke fired Terracotta

Dimensions

Approx. 197 mm tall 175 mm diameter

Production

As with all my Museum Quality Replicas, this pot has been made, as the original would have been, entirely by hand from natural clay and using replicas of the types of tool that the Bronze-Age makers would have used. In keeping with the original pot, the decoration has been applied using bone tools. 

Firing

It has been fired to emulate the ancient firing conditions. The original pot would have been fired in an open wood fire, in close contact with the fuel, a process that leaves its mark on the clay as variations in the surface colour. However, the very low temperatures achieved in open firings also results in pots that are relatively weak, so this pot has been fired to a somewhat higher temperature to strengthen it, in a special firing process that allows me to achieve an authentic appearance to the pot. The exterior has been finished with beeswax to give a slight sheen.

 Health & Safety

This is a Museum Quality Replica and is not intended for use as a drinking vessel, if you require replica pots for actual use with food or beverages, please ask before purchasing.

Postage

All items are sent using a second class postal service, if you wish to have an item sent first class please contact me for a quote. Many Thanks