ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Gold working in the Bronze Age British Isles

So, a long time ago, when there were no cars, planes or even electricity and people were using bronze tools and weapons, they found out something really cool. They discovered a shiny yellow metal called gold.

People back then loved gold because it was rare, beautiful and didn't tarnish, which means it doesn't lose its shine even if it's left outside for a really long time.

The Bronze Age people in the British Isles were really good at working with bronze, so they started to use gold to make special items like jewelry, ornaments, and even some tools.

Making gold things was really difficult because gold is very soft and hard to shape. Imagine trying to play with a ball of dough that keeps changing shape as soon as you touch it. So, the people had to be really careful and use special tools that could cut and shape the gold.

The gold items they made were usually decorated with patterns and designs inspired by nature, like flowers and animals. They would use different techniques to attach the gold items to other things, like using tiny strips of gold or mixing it with amber, a kind of tree sap that turns hard, to stick them together.

The Bronze Age people were really creative and made beautiful things with gold, but they didn't have a lot of it, so only special people like leaders or warrior chiefs could afford it.

So, that's how the Bronze Age people in the British Isles worked with gold. They made precious and beautiful things that were rare and valued by everyone.