Gold Nails

Mapungubwe Hill, Grave Area

AD 1250 - AD 1290

Quantity: 1055

Combined weight 56.6g

3.15mm (min) x 9.74mm (max)

Gold nails or tacks were used to attach the sheets of gold foil to wooden carved forms such as the gold vessel and sceptre. Nail shanks are predominantly tapered, rounded or rectangular in cross section and some are deformed (bent shanks) by the hammering process. The nails were produced by hammering, a process that shows clear impact marks that are visible on the worked head. The total number of gold nails in the Mapungubwe Gold Collection is estimated at about 1 502.