Avanton Gold Cone

Summary

The Avanton Gold Cone, Avanton Cone (French: Cône d'Or d'Avanton, Cône d'Avanton), or Avanton gold hat is a late Bronze Age artefact, belonging to the group of Golden hats, only four of which are known so far.

Avanton Gold Cone
MaterialGold
Height55 cm
Createdc. 950 BC
Discovered1844
Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
Present locationSaint-Germain-en-Laye, Ile-de-France, France

The Avanton Cone was the second such object to be discovered (after the Golden Hat of Schifferstadt). It was found in 1844 in a field near the village of Avanton, about 12 kilometres (7 mi) north of Poitiers, France. The object was damaged; comparison with other finds suggests that a part (the brim) is missing. The remaining part of the Avanton cone is 55-centimetre (22 in) long and weighs 285 grams (10 oz). Originally dated to the Middle Bronze and suggested to be a fertility symbol, it now appears to be of later date and more complex function (see Golden hats).

The Avanton Cone is on display in the Musée d'Archéologie Nationale at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris.

See also edit

References edit

Tourism website referring to the Avanton Cone

  • Gold und Kult der Bronzezeit. (AusstellungsKatalog). Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg 2003. ISBN 3-926982-95-0
  • Wilfried Menghin (ed.): Acta Praehistorica et Archaeologica. Unze, Potsdam 32.2000, S. 31-108. ISSN 0341-1184
  • Peter Schauer: Die Goldblechkegel der Bronzezeit – Ein Beitrag zur Kulturverbindung zwischen Orient und Mitteleuropa. Habelt, Bonn 1986. ISBN 3-7749-2238-1