Practices of metal deposition in Late Bronze Age Scotland

One of Eugène Warmenbol's many contributions has been to provide cross-contextual and nuanced perspectives on Bronze Age metalwork deposition in Europe. It is in this spirit that this contribution approaches metalwork from Late Bronze Age Scotland (1100-800BC), with focus on single finds, hoards and settlements. The ways in which objects were treated before deposition, the overall structure of deposition, and the places things were buried allow us to recognise similarities, differences and connections across deposits. In Scotland, John Coles' (1960) seminal work remains the most comprehensive overview of Late Bronze Age metalwork from the region, but changing perspectives, alongside new discoveries, mean that we can reconsider aspects of the topic, especially with regard to the specific practices involved. Here, I present historic and new discoveries of metalwork to highlight some recurring practices.