Bronze Age Golden Hats

Golden hats (or Gold hats) are a very specific and rare type of archaeological artifact from Bronze Age Europe. So far, four such objects ("cone-shaped gold hats of the Schifferstadt type") are known. The objects are made of thin sheet gold and were attached externally to long conical and brimmed headdresses which were probably made of some organic material and served to stabilise the external gold leaf.

Golden Hat of Schifferstadt, found in 1835 at Schifferstadt near Speyer, circa 1400–1300 BC.

The Golden Hat of Schifferstadt  was discovered in a field near the town of Schifferstadt in Southwest Germany in 1835. It is a Bronze Age artefact made of thin sheet gold and served as the external decoration of a head-dress, probably of an organic material, with a brim and a chin-strap.

The Avanton Cone  found at Avanton near Poitiers in 1844, circa 1000–900 BC.

The Avanton Gold Cone or Avanton Conecirca 1000–900 BC is a late Bronze Age artefact, belonging to the group of Golden hats, only four of which are known so far.

The Avanton Cone was the second such object to be discovered (after the Golden Hat of Schifferstadt). It was found in 1844 in a field near the village of Avanton, about 12 km north of Poitiers, France. The object was damaged; comparison with other finds suggests that a part (the brim) is missing. The remaining part of the Avanton cone is 55 cm long and weighs 285 g. Originally dated to the Middle Bronze and suggested to be a fertility symbol, it now appears to be of later date and more complex function.

Golden Cone of Ezelsdorf-Buch, found near Ezelsdorf near Nuremberg in 1953, circa 1000–900 BC; the tallest known specimen at c. 90 cm.

The Golden Cone of Ezelsdorf-Buch is a Late Bronze Age artefact discovered in 1953 between the villages of Ezelsdorf (Franconia) and Buch (Bavaria) in Southern Germany. A tall (88 cm), cone-shaped object made of thin sheet gold. It was presumably worn by special functionaries on ceremonial occasions.

Berlin Gold Hat, found probably in Swabia or Switzerland, circa 1000–800 BC; acquired by the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Berlin, in 1996.

The Berlin Gold Hat or Berlin Golden Hat is a Late Bronze Age artifact made of thin gold leaf. It served as the external covering on a long conical brimmed headdress, probably of an organic material. It is now in the Neues Museum on Museum Island in Berlin, in a room by itself with an elaborate explanatory display.

The Berlin Gold Hat is the best preserved specimen among the four known conical Golden hats known from Bronze Age Europe so far. All were found in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is generally assumed that the hats served as the insignia of deities or priests in the context of a sun cult that appears to have been widespread in Central Europe at the time. The hats are also suggested to have served astronomical/calendrical functions.