archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...

, the Carp's Tongue complex refers to a tradition of metal working from south eastern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

to the later

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. It is part of the

Ewart Park Phase The Ewart Park Phase is a period of the later Bronze Age Britain. It is named after a founder's hoard discovered in Ewart Park in Northumberland and is the twelfth in a sequence of industrial stages that cover the period 3000 BC to 600 BC. The ...

that dates from the ninth century BC. Numerous distinctive metal items have been found in

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

hoard A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...

s from the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

valley and

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

that differ from items found elsewhere in Britain. Related items have been found in Ireland and in France. The period was one where experiments in alloying

lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

with bronze were being used to develop new artefact types some of which have an uncertain purpose. The complex is named after the carp's tongue sword but other objects include triangular perforated knives, hog's back knives, socketed and end-winged axes, and mysterious bugle-shaped objects. Quite why so much experimentation was taking place at a time when

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

was increasingly supplanting bronze as the material of choice is uncertain. Colin Burgess has argued that new techniques triggered a kind of industrial revolution, others that there was an oversupply of bronze that smiths were obliged to find something to do with.

References

Bronze Age England 9th-century BC establishments {{UK-archaeology-stub