Hove amber cup.
Hove amber cup. The Hove amber cup is a Bronze Age cup that was discovered in a great round barrow mound that was crudely excavated in 1856, in Hove, East Sussex, England. Dated to around 1250 BCE, the amber cup was found in a Wessex culture grave in a coffin made from a treetrunk. Also in the coffin were a skeleton, a Camerton (Wessex culture) type dagger, a whetstone and a small axe. The cup has been associated with a small group of other "unstable" cups with round bottoms, made of precious materials and found in north-western Europe. Most are in gold, but also silver, amber and shale. The amber would have come from the Baltic region, and that suggest early trade links between Britain and Europe. The Hove amber cup is one of only two found in Britain; the other was in Dorset. However, the two are not of the same style of craftsmanship. External diameter, 3.5 inches, height, 2.5 inches.