Deconstructing the Ringlemere Cup

B.A.S.S. aren't shy when it comes to deconstruction. "Don't you mean 'reconstruction?'", we hear you cry. Well, no. You see, reconstruction is very 'now' and every archaeologist under the sun is having a bash at it. Deconstructing something takes a bit more time and effort, and B.A.S.S. have done us proud in doing a fine job with the Ringlemere Cup.

B.A.S.S. discovered the cup hidden inside a chicken and bacon sandwich at the Dog and Duck pub in Kent, probably on its way to being smuggled to Cornwall. After some extensive exploratory fieldwork in said pub, B.A.S.S. found the original context of the cup had been some bloke's barrow not too far up the road. They stocked up on pork scratchings and pale ale and headed out; two days later they also uncovered half a wall (it was a full wall but one of the student volunteers knocked over a can of nitroglycerin).

The cup itself is pretty bashed in, and one of the main questions posed at their lecture (again in the Dog and Duck pub) was "how did it get so damaged?".

The popular theory is that the cup was the victim of extensive ploughing in the area, but B.A.S.S. didn't believe it for a second. Half a dozen golden cups were forged and they spend a full week destroying them as best they could. Eventually, the truth was found.

At the test lab, B.A.S.S. confirmed that the damage was the direct result of a Neolithic 'test your strength' contest amongst tribal leaders; a tradition that still exists among the locals of the Dog and Duck pub. Judging by the extensive damage on this cup, we imagine that whoever had a crack at this one was a clear winner.