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‘Single finds may come from either land or water, and until recently they had attracted little attention. It has been all too easy to dismiss these discoveries as chance losses, although their fine condition often makes this seem unlikely.’
(Bradley R., 1990, 6)
The disposal is perhaps the most interesting of all the facets of the bow’s history. It was thought for many years that the Meare Heath Bow had broken in use and had been thrown into the bog, perhaps by a disgruntled hunter. This appears to have been the fate of the Rotten Bottom Bow from Dumfriesshire, Scotland (National Museum of Scotland info. leaflet). When the evidence connected to the break in the handle of the Meare Heath Bow is weighed-up however, it seems to suggest that the bow was deliberately broken. It is most likely that the bow was unstrung, the handle scored with a flint tool, the bow turned over and then snapped over something hard, like over the knee, but the question that remains to be answered is why? There is little question that the Meare Heath Bow was an outstanding weapon, both in its design and in its artistic beauty, so why would the Neolithic owner of the bow wish to break such a fine weapon and then discard it in the marshes of Somerset? There are many possibilities for the bow’s demise, but the two most likely are that the bow was either some sort of ritual deposit, such as a votive offering, or it was disposed of in an act of denigration.
The ritual deposition of votive artefacts is a practice known to archaeologists the world over and such deposits can be traced back thousands of years. Appraising the evidence for other votive deposits, it seems clear that the Meare Heath Bow shares similarities with them, especially in the way in which the bow was treated prior to deposition and where it was actually deposited. Prior to deposition many votive offerings, especially weapons, are ‘ritually killed’, i.e. broken to take them out of normal usage and out of the bounds of this realm (Bradley R., 1990). There is no doubt that the Meare Heath Bow fits the description of a ‘ritually killed weapon’, as it is most likely that the bow was purposefully cut and then snapped. When looking at where the bow was deposited ‘it is true that the finer weapons are often found separately from other groups’ (Ibid.) and that ‘ritual deposits occur in special locations away from settlements’ (Levy J., 1982), both these factors are true of the Meare Heath Bow. It must also be noted, that the Meare Heath Bow was found close to a Graig LLywd stone axe, which may also be of importance, as ‘exotic’ polished stone axes are often found deposited as part of votive hoards (Bradley R., 1990). There are also other artefacts from the Somerset Levels that may be votive deposits, such as the God-Dolly (mentioned above). Judging by the evidence, it seems likely that the Meare Heath Bow was broken and thrown into the bog as a votive offering.
If the bow was cast into the bog as a votive offering what was the depositor’s intent? We can only guess, but the bow’s deposition could have been the result of an offering to the spirits of a higher realm, such as ancestral spirits or Gods, or perhaps it was deposited in an act of remembrance. ‘Worship makes demands on the celebrant. These include not only words and gestures of prayer and respect, but often active participation, involving movement and perhaps eating and drinking. Frequently it involves also the offering of material things to the deity, both as sacrifice or gift’ (Renfrew & Bahn, 1993, 359) and ‘virtually all Hunter-Gatherers rely on gifts to create and maintain alliances’ (Hayden B., 1992). It is a possibility then, that the Neolithic owner of this bow sacrificed it as an offering to his gods or his tribe’s ancestral spirits, to placate their friendliness towards him: or perhaps the bow was sacrificed upon the death of its owner in an act of reverence to his memory.
If the bow was not broken in an act of reverence to the gods, or to its owner’s memory, what then remains to explain why we now have only half a bow? The other likely explanation is that the bow was broken in an act of denigration. It is known that warfare occurred in the Neolithic period, so perhaps the owner of this bow had been involved in a skirmish or battle of some sort, or had killed someone that he shouldn't have! In this scenario, it is not difficult to imagine his capture and his humiliation at the hands of his captors when his bow was confiscated, scored, snapped and then cast it into the marsh in an act designed to belittle him! We will never know the real reason for the destruction and deposition of the bow, but its deposition was a fortuitous event, for without it we would never have had the chance to study such a remarkable weapon (Fig. 11).
The people of the Neolithic are already known to us through the archaeological record as skilled hunters, farmers, animal rearers, builders, potters, flint knappers and carpenters (Cunliffe B., 1994), with this in mind it should come as no surprise to learn that these people were also skilled bowyers. What was discovered through the manufacture of the Meare Heath Bow replica however was just how skilled at bow making these people actually were. The Meare Heath Bow is a truly amazing weapon, and when the facts are drawn together allowing a picture of the bow's history to emerge, great appreciation for the skills of the Neolithic bowyers is gained. The Meare Heath bow is an artefact that shows just how skilful and resourceful our ancestors could be.
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