The ''Avanton Gold Cone'', ''Avanton Cone'' (, ), or ''Avanton gold hat'' is a late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

artefact, belonging to the group of

Golden hats Golden hats (or gold hats) (, singular: ) are a very specific and rare type of archaeological artifact from Bronze Age Europe. So far, four such objects ("cone-shaped gold hats of the Schifferstadt type") are known. The objects are made of thin ...

, only four of which are known so far. The Avanton Cone was the second such object to be discovered (after the

Golden Hat of Schifferstadt The Golden Hat of Schifferstadt () was discovered in a field near the town of Schifferstadt in Southwest Germany in 1835. It is a Bronze Age artefact made of thin sheet gold and served as the external decoration of a head-dress, probably of an ...

). It was found in 1844 in a field near the village of

Avanton Avanton () is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. A Bronze Age golden hat was found near Avanton in 1844, see Avanton Gold Cone. It is on display in the National Museum of Archeology in Saint ...

, about north of

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The object was damaged; comparison with other finds suggests that a part (the brim) is missing. The remaining part of the Avanton cone is long and weighs . Originally dated to the Middle Bronze and suggested to be a

fertility symbol Fertility was often mentioned in many mythological tales. In mythology, fertility deities exist in different belief systems or religions. Fertility deities A fertility deity is a god or goddess in mythology associated with fertility, pregnancy, ...

, it now appears to be of later date and more complex function (see

). The Avanton Cone is on display in the

Musée d'Archéologie Nationale The National Archaeological Museum (French: Musée d'Archéologie nationale) is a major French archaeology museum, covering pre-historic times to the Merovingian period (450–750). It is housed in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the ''d� ...

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

, near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

References

Tourism website referring to the Avanton Cone
* ''Gold und Kult der Bronzezeit''. (AusstellungsKatalog). Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg 2003. * Wilfried Menghin (ed.): ''Acta Praehistorica et Archaeologica.'' Unze, Potsdam 32.2000, S. 31-108. * Peter Schauer: ''Die Goldblechkegel der Bronzezeit – Ein Beitrag zur Kulturverbindung zwischen Orient und Mitteleuropa.'' Habelt, Bonn 1986. Archaeological discoveries in France Archaeology of Poitiers Bronze Age France Bronze Age gold hats Vienne (department) 1844 archaeological discoveries Collection of the Musée des Antiquités Nationales {{Europe-archaeology-stub 10th-century BC works

See also

References