This work was of necessity been based
to a great extent on the typology of bronze and
gold objects; the continuing lack of knowledge of
burials, settlements and common pottery in the first
millenium B.C. remains an unsolved problem. However,
the distinction of a type of pottery, termed Covesea
Ware, has provided the first information that may
enable us to discuss a truly Late Bronze Age culture,
rather than mere industries, and the appearance of
gold armlets in varying circumstances, fully documented
in Appendix ii, provides a hint of a solution
to the funerary problem. The list of settlement
sites, Traprain and Jarlshof, remains small, although
several hut- circles have yielded evidence of Late
Bronze Age use, and this also opens up a new line of
pursuit.
The Late Bronze Age in Scotland has been studied
on previous occasions, notably by Childe in 1935 and
1946, but he placed the emphasis on the more unusual
aspects of the period, such as the settlement at
Jarlshof. Collections of material were carried out
by Callander in 1923 and by Henderson in 1938. In
1931 Miss Benton provided the first hint that the
Scottish Late Bronze Age was not merely a crude
reflection of English and Irish technology and typology,
but unfortunately the effect of her thesis
was the further confusion of the issue, because of
the lack of discrimination in pottery definitions.
Nevertheless, the suggestions advanced in 1931 have
been substantiated, in a somewhat different form,
in the present work.
The method of study employed here included a careful re- examination of most of the bronze and
gold objects, and this has not been without its
rewards of new information. In practically all cases,
and wherever possible, former published work and
reports were followed up and checked, and the
results, especially with regard to shields, sometimes
necessitated an entirely new approach.
The typological studies are based upon the
English and Irish material, and published work and
personal inspection of objects from these areas form
the main field of comparative typology; however, as will be seen, the chronological systems employed in
England and Ireland have not been used or adapted,
because of the unique position of Scotland in the
Late Bronze Age, the recipient of influences from
all quarters.
The writer has tried to steer clear of most
temptations to interpret typology into sociology,
with the exception of a short digression into the
field of ethnology. The recent attempts to postulate
social organizations from the composition of bronze
hoards have not, in my opinion, been convincing,
and these are not considered here.
