Goldsmith

The skilled metalworkers of barbarian Europe had already perfected casting, sheet working and hammer working by the beginning of the Iron Age. The horse harnesses and vehicle fittings found just south of Gussage All Saints in southern England exemplify the casting method known as 'cire perdue', or the lost wax method. The item to be cast is first modelled out of beeswax. Once this model is completed it is then covered in clay, leaving at least two vents. The clay is then heated to melt the wax and bake the clay hard. The wax is poured out of the hardened mould, and then molten gold is poured through one of the vents to fill it. When the metal cools the mould can be broken to reveal the cast piece which can then be finished and polished by hand.