The Birdlip Grave Group
In 1879 some workmen discovered three skeletons in a quarry between Crickley and Birdlip overlooking the Vale of Gloucester. With the bones were some amazing Iron Age artifacts, some of which can be seen in the photograph.
The most important object is a handheld mirror of bronze. The front of this was originally highly polished for reflections, while the rear is decorated with flowing patterns worked into the metal. It is one of the finest items of British celtic art to survive today, and perhaps the finest example housed outside a national museum.
The smaller items are also remarkable. There are fine bronze bowls and bracelets. The stylised face of a bird or animal can be seen in a silver-gilt brooch and a bronze knife handle is shaped as the head of a bull or ox. There is also a bead necklace of amber and an exotic stone possibly collected from as far away as China.
