A Bronze Age artefact found on a Kent farm (England) five years ago, and acquired by the British Museum, has returned to the area for a special exhibition. Declared a national treasure, the 4,000-year-old Ringlemere Gold Cup has been on display in London since its discovery in Woodnesborough.
     The cup has now been loaned to Dover Museum until the end of February 2007. The cup, which was found with the aid of a metal detector by Cliff Bradshaw, is one of only seven found in Europe. It will be on public view from Tuesday alongside a 3,600-year-old Bronze Age boat found in Dover in 1992. The Ringlemere Gold Cup, found in November 2001, dates from between 1700 and 1500 BCE and is made of beaten gold.
     Archaeologists discovered a previously unsuspected funeral site from the early Bronze Age on the site where it was found. In its time, it would have been a highly valuable object, and its deliberate burial represented the giving up of a great deal of wealth by the person or community that owned it. It was acquired for the British Museum through funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, The National Art Collections Fund and Friends of the British Museum.

Source: BBC News (16 October 2006)