The Mold gold cape (Welsh: Clogyn Aur yr Wyddgrug) is a ceremonial "cape" of solid sheet-gold from Wales dating from about 1900–1600 BC in the British Bronze Age. It was found at Bryn yr Ellyllon burial mound near Mold, Flintshire in 1833. Discovered on a skeleton, the cape would have been impractical for everyday dress, and very restricting, and is thought to have formed part of a ceremonial or religious garment. The cape is usually on display in the British Museum in London, but has previously toured in exhibitions at Museum of Liverpool, National Museum Cardiff, and National Museum of Scotland.
Discovery The gold cape was found in 1833 by workmen. Accounts of the exact circumstances vary: either during the filling of a gravel pit or while they were quarrying for stone. The cape was within a Bronze Age burial mound known as Bryn yr Ellyllon, which translates to "Goblins' Hill". The gold cape had been placed on the body of a person who was interred in a rough cist (stone-lined grave) within the mound. The preserved remains of the skeleton were fragmentary, and the cape was badly crushed. An estimated 200–300 amber beads, in rows, had originally been on the cape, but only a single bead survives today. Also associated with the cape were remains of coarse cloth and 16 fragments of sheet bronze which are likely to have been the backing for the gold: in places the gold was attached to the bronze sheeting with bronze rivets. Among the artefacts found there also were two gold 'straps'. An urn, with large quantities of burnt bone and ash, was found 60–90 cm (24–35 in) from the grave.
The cape
The cape is 45.8 cm (18.0 in) wide. It was designed to fit someone of a very slight build, perhaps a teenager, and although the sex of the person buried in this grave remains unclear, the associated finds are likely, by comparison with similar contemporary graves discovered, to be those accompanying the burial of a woman. The cape shows signs of having been worn, and appears to have had a leather lining. The cape is considered to be one of the most spectacular examples of prehistoric sheet-gold working yet discovered. It is of particular interest as both its form and its design are unparalleled. The cape is oval in shape and would cover the shoulders, upper arms, and upper chest of the person wearing it, being higher at the back and lower in the front. As the cape extends so far down the upper body, it would have severely restricted arm movement by pinning them to the wearer's side, so that only the lower arms were usable. For this reason, the cape would not have been suitable for everyday wear. It seems most probable that the cape was used for ceremonial purposes, and may have signified the wearer as a person of spiritual or temporal power: the Bronze Age equivalent of a chasuble, perhaps. The craftsmanship with which the cape was constructed is exceptional. The object was beaten out of a single ingot of gold, a task which would have taken considerable time and skill, and was then intensely decorated with repoussé concentric rings of ribs and bosses. The decoration almost totally fills the object's outer surface, so that very little "plain" gold remains. It has been suggested that this decorative motif may mimic multiple strings of beads and/or the folds of cloth. The value of the metal and the quality of the craftmanship suggests that the cape was produced by a wealthy culture. Scholars speculate that the makers and owners of the cape were associated with the mine on the Great Orme, north Wales, the largest copper mine in north-west Europe at that time.
The decorative motifs
Around the neck and base is a line of perforations. There are three zones of decoration on the cape: a band running around the base, a curving panel that dips at the neck and rises over the shoulders, and two matching panels to fill in the upper arm area. Above the perforations at the base are two high ridges and a deep groove. Above the groove is a line of conical bosses that run around the whole cape, but bifurcate at the front to rise up over the triangular panels at the upper arm. The bosses at the front are enlarged. At the front the sequence of decoration above the bosses is, from bottom to top: ridge, three rows of small domed bosses, ridge, row of square-based pyramids, ridge, row of small domed bosses, ridge, row of lentoid bosses, ridge, three rows of small domed bosses, ridge, row of conical bosses and finally, three ridges. The back has the same sequence with the addition, from bottom to top, of ridge, row of lentoid bosses, ridge, three rows of small domed bosses, ridge and, a row of lentoid bosses. The two triangular areas on the upper arm are bounded at the front by a ridge, row of lentoid bosses and a ridge. At the front and back it is then bounded by three rows of small domed bosses. Inside this is a ridge, a row of conical bosses, and two ridges with a groove. The central area is filled with small domed bosses. At the base of each ridge and the large bosses are fine punched indentations (pointillé). In places the perforations at the base are double. In areas where parts of the cape are missing there are perforations (possibly from a previous repair). Perforations along the upper and lower edges may indicate that it was once attached to a lining, perhaps of leather, which has decayed. The bronze strips may have served to strengthen the adornment further.
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