On the beach: new discoveries at Harlyn Bay, Cornwall

Following severe winter storms in February, 1990, Philip Steele reported the discovery of a stone covered pit containing a Trevisker Ware vessel eroding from the cliffs at Harlyn Bay. Historic Environment Service archaeologist Steve Hartgroves visited the site, recorded the section, and took samples of the pit fill and the soil layers identified. The pit was then excavated and the urn and its contents removed. The vessel contained a mixed fill of soil, cremated bone from several individuals and quartz stones, and a small bronze 'pendant'. The vessel, made from gabbroic clay with a burnished surface, is of slightly biconical shape, with an everted, bevelled rim and a band of shallow incised chevrons close to the top. Analyses of lipids from the vessel revealed that it probably been used to store ruminant dairy fats. Traces of fibre on the loop of the pendant suggest that it had been suspended from a cord. A radiocarbon date from the cremation deposit fell between 2120-1880 cal BC. This date is important as it provides an early date for incised Trevisker Ware and makes a major contribution to the debate on the Ware's decorative sequence. The date also makes this one of the few securely dated Early Bronze Age burials in Cornwall with a metalwork association.