Comb and gold hair-ring dating back more than 3,000 years unearthed in south Wales

They are sometimes depicted as unkempt and wild-haired but the discovery of what is being billed as possibly the UK’s oldest wooden comb suggests prehistoric people liked to take care of their appearance.

The comb and a beautifully crafted hair-ring, dating back more than 3,000 years to the bronze age, were unearthed near the seaside town of Barry in south Wales.

Discovered in a small burial pit where the cremated remains of a human had been placed, archaeologists suggest it shows bronze age people may have been fond of keeping their hair looking good.

Mark Collard, director of Red River Archaeology Group, said: “We’re always finding bits of metal and other artefacts but finding something like a comb is unique. It’s a rare glimpse into the personal life of bronze age people.”

The wooden comb – actually a fragment of the object – measures just 36mm. It has eight narrow and parallel teeth and is highly fragile. It is thought to have survived because it was partly burnt. Red River Archaeology Group says it may be the oldest wooden comb ever found in Britain,

The gold ring, 1.1cm in diameter, is expertly made and decorated with a finely worked chevron or herringbone pattern. It is believed to be an early example of a decorative hair-ring.

Both pieces have been dated to the middle bronze age (1300-1150BC), and are believed to have been carefully selected as grave goods by mourners to accompany the deceased person to the afterlife.

Collard said it was not possible to say if the comb and ring belonged to a man or woman but the skill that went into the ring suggested it was a person of high status. “It’s wonderful to think of someone perhaps sitting around a fire combing their hair.”

But Collard added there may have been a prosaic reason for using the comb: “It might have been used to get lice out of hair. It could have been a practical object.”

The find was made during archaeological excavations as part of a road-building scheme in South Glamorgan.

David Gilbert, project manager for Red River Archaeology Group, said: “The gold ring is the most eye-catching object to accompany the cremation. However, the most important artefact is what may at first glance seem the more mundane: the wooden comb, which is a find without parallel in Wales, if not the UK. [It shows] the attention to detail and pride in appearance missing from so many depictions of prehistoric people on television or in films.”

Adam Gwilt, the principal curator for prehistory at Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, said: “This cremation burial, with its accompanying gold ring and wooden comb, gives us a glimpse of life and death in bronze age times.

“The gold ring is a very early, well made and a small example of its type, offering new insight into the development of hair-rings as a form of early jewellery across Britain and Ireland.”

The museum is hoping to acquire the comb and the ring.