Rillaton Gold Cup

The Rillaton Gold Cup was found in 1837 inside a stone cist (burial chamber) within a Bronze Age barrow on Rillaton Moor, part of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England. It was discovered alongside a dagger and other burial goods, indicating it accompanied a high-status individual. The find was made by stone cutters working in the area who broke into the ancient burial mound.

The Rillaton Gold Cup dates to approximately 1700–1500 BC, placing it firmly in the Early Bronze Age in Britain. It was created during a period when fine goldworking techniques—including repoussé hammering from a single sheet of gold—were practiced by metalworkers in northwest Europe. At roughly 3,700 years old, it is one of the oldest and finest gold objects ever found in Britain.

The Rillaton Gold Cup is held in the British Museum in London, where it is part of the museum's prehistoric European collections. It was acquired by the British Museum after initially being kept in the royal household, reportedly because it was found on Crown land and came to the attention of King William IV. A replica is displayed at the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro for visitors who cannot travel to London.

The Rillaton Gold Cup is made from a single sheet of corrugated gold that was hammered and shaped using the repoussé technique, where the metal is worked from the reverse side to create raised decorative ridges. The cup stands about 9 centimeters tall and has a handle attached with rivets, all in gold. Its construction demonstrates a high level of craftsmanship for the British Bronze Age and is comparable in technique to other European gold cups from the same period, such as the Ringlemere Cup.