Stonehenge sun-disc from the dawn of history goes on display in Wiltshire for summer solstice

This article originally appeared on Culture24.

Wiltshire Museum will exhibit a gold 'Stonehenge sun-disc', which may have been worn on clothing or a head-dress

Marking this year’s summer solstice an early Bronze Age sun-disc, one of the earliest metal objects found in Britain, has gone on display for the first time at Wiltshire Museum.

Archaeologists believe the disc was forged in about 2,400 BC, soon after the great sarsen stones were put up at Stonehenge. It is thought it was worn on clothing to represent the sun.

The sun-disc, one of only six such finds, was discovered in a burial mound at Monkton Farleigh, just 20 miles from Stonehenge.

It was found during excavations by Guy Underwood in 1947 along with a pottery beaker, flint arrowheads and fragments of the skeleton of an adult male.

Preserved by Dr Denis Whitehead since its discovery, the sun-disc was seen by the museum's archaeologists the first time was when he brought it to the opening of the Prehistory Galleries in 2013.

“We have the best Bronze Age collections in Britain and we are delighted to be able to display this incredibly rare sun-disk through the generosity of the donors,” said David Dawson, Museum Director.

It now joins and unparallelled collection of Bronze Age treasures at the Museum dating to the time of Stonehenge and worn by people who worshiped inside the stone circle. Chief among them are the famous golden Bush Barrow treasures found in the Normanton Down Barrows less than a mile from Stonehenge.

“We have the best Bronze Age collections in Britain and we are delighted to be able to display this incredibly rare sun-disk through the generosity of the donors,” said David Dawson, Museum Director.

The sun-disc is a thin embossed sheet of gold with a cross at the centre, surrounded by a circle. Between the lines of both the cross and the circle are fine dots which glint in sunlight.

Pierced by two holes, it is thought the disc could have been sewn to a piece of clothing or a head-dress.

Until recently it had been thought that early Bronze Age gold may have come from Ireland, but thanks to new scientific techniques developed at Southampton University evidence suggests the gold may have originated from Cornwall.

Presented to the museum in memory of Dr Whitehead, it has now been cleaned by the Wiltshire Council Conservation Service and has been placed on display in time for this year’s mid-summer solstice.

For more information visit, wiltshiremuseum.org.uk/.

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Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art529786-stonehenge-sun-disc-from-the-dawn-of-history-goes-on-dsiplay-in-wiltshire-for-summer-solstice