Rillaton Barrow

Rillaton Barrow
Rillaton Barrow
Native name; Krug Reslegh(Cornish)
	Location of Rillaton Barrow in Cornwall
Type	Barrow
Location	Minions
Coordinates	50°31′16″N4°27′21″W/ 50.5211°N 4.4557°W
OS grid reference	SX 26021 71911
Area	Bodmin Moor
Built	Bronze Age
Governing body	Cornwall Heritage Trust
Owner	English Heritage
Scheduled monument
Official name	The Rillaton Barrow, 500m NNE of The Hurlers stone circles
Designated	10 February 1958
Reference no.	1010233

Rillaton Barrow(Cornish:Krug Reslegh)^[1]is aBronze Age round barrowinCornwall,UK. The site is on the eastern flank ofBodmin Moorin the parish ofLinkinhorneabout four miles (6 km) north ofLiskeard.^[2]

Rillaton Barrow was excavated in 1837 and found to contain a centrally-placedinhumationbeneath the 25m widebarrow.The burial had been placed in a stonecistmeasuring 2m by almost 1m. Human remains were found along withgrave goodsincluding theRillaton Gold Cup,a bronze dagger, beads, pottery, glass and other items.

Rillaton Gold Cup

The Rillaton gold cup, Cornwall, perhaps c. 1700 BC.British Museum

Most notably, the burial contained the Rillaton Gold Cup, a biconical gold vessel, about 90 mm high,^[a]with a handle attached with rivets.^[3]The cup resembles a lateNeolithic(approx 2300 BC) ceramic beaker with corded decoration and until 2007 was thought to date to a much later period of c. 1650-1400 BC. In 2001 the similarRinglemere Cupwas found which has a similar corded style termed grooved ware, though it was (and remains) crushed nearly flat. Subsequent theories that it might have been deposited as avotive offeringhave now been abandoned in favour of it being part of the original grave goods in the Ringlemere barrow.

The cup shows anAegeanstyle and resembles similar finds from theGreeksite ofMycenae,suggesting cultural and trading links with the EasternMediterranean.^[5]The Rillaton Cup and thePelyntDagger are two artefacts that have been found in Cornwall that have been claimed to show contact with theMycenaeanworld.^[6]^[7]However a 2006 study by Stuart Needham and others sees no reason to look so far afield for parallels, and locates them in a group with other "unstable" cups (round-bottomed and unable to stand up) in precious materials found in north-western Europe.^[8]They propose a date around 1700 BC for the Rillaton Cup, though it may have been buried a long time after it was made.^[9]In contrast, the Pelynt Dagger might actually be Mycenaean.

Blocked up entrance to the Rillaton Barrow

After their discovery in 1837 the finds were sent asDuchy Treasure troveto KingWilliam IV,and remained in the royal household.^[b]After the death ofKing George Vin 1936 the importance of the cup and associated dagger came to be appreciated, leading to their loan to theBritish Museum,^[3]where the cup remains on show next to the similarRinglemere Cup,though still belonging to theRoyal Collection.The other objects found with the cup have now disappeared, and "no useful descriptions or depictions are known"; they might well have helped assess the date.^[11]A replica of the cup is in theRoyal Cornwall Museumat Truro.^[12]

A legend associated with the cup is that Rillaton is haunted by the spirit of a druid priest, who offers travellers a drink from an undrainable cup. One night a traveller threw the cup's contents at the ghost, and was later found dead in a ravine.^[13]

Notes

^85 mm according to the British Museum website,^[3]95 mm according to Needham et al.^[4]
^Ian Richardson, Treasure Registrar for the Portable Antiquities Scheme has been quoted as saying "One of them – either King George IV [sic] or William IV – was rumoured to have used it to store cufflinks on their mantelpiece ".^[10]Philip Paytonrelated the story that after being lost for many years the cup turned up "in use by King George V as a receptacle for his collar studs!"^[5]

References

^Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF):List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel.Cornish Language Partnership.
^Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 201Plymouth & LauncestonISBN 978-0-319-23146-3
^^a ^b ^cThe Rillaton Gold CupBritish Museum.ArchivedOctober 2, 2011, at theWayback Machine
^Needham et al., 58
^^a ^bPayton, Philip (2004),Cornwall: A History(2 ed.), Cornwall Editions Limited, p. 32,ISBN 978-1-904880-05-9
^Christie, P. M. "Cornwall in the Bronze Age" in:Cornish Archaeology;25
^Budin, Stephanie Lynn (2009),The Ancient Greeks: An Introduction,Oxford University Press US,ISBN 978-0-19-537984-6
^Needham et al., 53-63
^Needham et al., 60-63
^Sarah, Jackson (2 January 2015)."Archaeological Treasure: Portable Antiquities Scheme finds at the British Museum".Retrieved20 November2016.
^Needham et al., 61, and catalogue entry
^"Minions Cornwall - Guide Attractions Accommodation".cornwall.Retrieved20 November2016.
^Ash, Russell (1973).Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain.Reader's Digest Association Limited. p. 137.ISBN 9780340165973.

Sources

Needham, Stuart; Parfitt, Keith; Varndell, Gillian (Eds)The Ringlemere Cup: Precious Cups and the Beginning of the Channel Bronze Age,2006, British Museum Research Publication 163,ISBN 978-086159-163-3

External links

"The Rillaton Cup".Royal Collection Trust.Inventory no. 69742.

[5] 85 mm according to the British Museum website,^[3]95 mm according to Needham et al.^[4]

[12] Ian Richardson, Treasure Registrar for the Portable Antiquities Scheme has been quoted as saying "One of them – either King George IV [sic] or William IV – was rumoured to have used it to store cufflinks on their mantelpiece ".^[10]Philip Paytonrelated the story that after being lost for many years the cup turned up "in use by King George V as a receptacle for his collar studs!"^[5]

[1] Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF):List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel.Cornish Language Partnership.

[2] Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 201Plymouth & LauncestonISBN 978-0-319-23146-3

[BM-3] The Rillaton Gold CupBritish Museum.ArchivedOctober 2, 2011, at theWayback Machine

[4] Needham et al., 58

[PC-6] Payton, Philip (2004),Cornwall: A History(2 ed.), Cornwall Editions Limited, p. 32,ISBN 978-1-904880-05-9

[7] Christie, P. M. "Cornwall in the Bronze Age" in:Cornish Archaeology;25

[8] Budin, Stephanie Lynn (2009),The Ancient Greeks: An Introduction,Oxford University Press US,ISBN 978-0-19-537984-6

[9] Needham et al., 53-63

[10] Needham et al., 60-63

[11] Sarah, Jackson (2 January 2015)."Archaeological Treasure: Portable Antiquities Scheme finds at the British Museum".Retrieved20 November2016.

[13] Needham et al., 61, and catalogue entry

[14] "Minions Cornwall - Guide Attractions Accommodation".cornwall.Retrieved20 November2016.

[15] Ash, Russell (1973).Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain.Reader's Digest Association Limited. p. 137.ISBN 9780340165973.

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