The Hounslow Bronze Boars

The Hounslow Bronze Boars

Where were they found?

The Hounslow Hoard

The Bronze Boars

“Only 22 bronze figurines in total (of both Iron Age and Roman date) are known in Britain, and, of these, the Hounslow boars are the most famous, being praised for their care and abstract nature of their design.”

-Gillian Clegg, The Archeology of Hounslow

The boars were found in the London borough of Hounslow in 1864, when a group of laborers were working in a field.

Boar A

The Boar in Celtic Culture

Due to the aggressive nature of the boar it was ideal for imagery use in war, decorating weapons and armor. The Celts wore boars to strike fear in the enemy

The smallest of the boars, it's most distinct feature is a small "platform" or sheet on the bottom of the feet. The boar measures 48.4 millimeters long,10.8 millimeters wide, 31.9 millimeters tall, and weighs 30 grams. Although it's hard to see in the images, the boar is quite detailed. The snout displays two nostrils, and there are tusks.

While this helmet is of Anglo-Saxon origin, it give's an idea of a helmet with a boar in top

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1215019&objectid=821286

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1249088&objectid=821286

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1215021&objectid=821286

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1215022&objectid=821286

The boars themselves are, unsurprisingly, made of bronze. They were made between 150-50 BCE, in the Iron age and therefore of La Tene culture. Archeologists believe the boars most likely sat atop helmet, perhaps most obvious in the smallest figurine. However to understand the significance of the boars one must look into Celtic culture.

source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Benty_grange_helm.jpg

Boar C

As mentioned before, the boars were found as part of the larger Hounslow hoard, a group of 11 objects found in 1864. Artifcats in this hoard included the two animal figurines at the right as well as the wheel found with the boars in the previous image. it should be noted that some of these objects were found in a different region of the Hounslow site, and have been dated as Bronze Age objects (namely the dog-like statuette and the wheel model)

“The three most famous boars, of undoubted Iron Age date, were recovered by labourers from a field near Hounslow in 1864...The animals have been praised many times for the care of their design, typical of the Celtic style:”

-Jennifer Foster, Bronze boar figurines in Iron Age and Roman Britain

Boar B

The largest of boars, clocking in at 75.9 millimeters long,23.9 millimeters wide,39.6 millimeters tall and weighing 105 grams. It is generally agreed that, like Boar A, Boar C adorned a helmet. The most prominent feature is undoubtedly the spiked back ridge of the boar. In Animals in Celtic Life and Myth, Miranda Green suggests a connection between a newer Irish myth of a ferocious boar with poisonous spikes on it's back, meaning the boar was far more frightening. As for the ears, they are common to Celtic art according to Jennifer Foster in Bronze boar figurines in Iron Age and Roman Britain

Boar B is the second largest, and subsequently second smallest, of the group. The British Museum only gives us the length, 72 millimeters. Of the three, Boar B is the only one that may have an alternate use. The prominent feature of Boar B is the ridge with six holes running along it's back. As a result, some believe the Boar could have been used as an amulet

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1249098&objectid=828953

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1215028&objectid=828953

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1215029&objectid=828953

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1226898&objectid=1394761

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=33393&objectid=1394761

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1226900&objectid=1394761

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1215031&objectid=828953

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1226897&objectid=1394761

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1246075&objectid=828953

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1249079&objectid=828953

The word Hounslow may have originated with Anglo-Saxon Honeslaw which means land suitable for hunting. Hounslow has seen settlement since the paleolithic times, as evidenced by the remains of circular huts found at the site. According my research archeologists are unsure as to where the boars came from

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=1226902&objectId=821165&partId=1

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1226891&objectid=1394762

Our thoughts:

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=236204&objectid=828953

Bibliography

Green, Miranda. Animals in Celtic life and myth. London: Routledge, 1998.

Clegg, Gillian. The Archaeology of Hounslow. London: West London Archaeological Field Group, 1991.

Foster, Jennifer. Bronze Boar figurines in Britain. Oxford: British Archeological Reports, 1977.

British Museum , "British Museum - Hounslow boar figure." Accessed October 16, 2013.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=828953.

British Museum , "British Museum - figure." Accessed October 16, 2013.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=821286&partId=1&searchText=hounslow hoard&place=30468&page=1.

British Museum , "British Museum - figure." Accessed October 16, 2013. http:// www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1394761.