TheEwart Park Phase is a period of the laterBronze Age Britain.
It is named after a founder'shoard discovered inEwart Park inNorthumberland and is the twelfth in a sequence of industrial stages that cover the period 3000 BC to 600 BC.
The Ewart Park phase dates from 800 to 700 BC, preceded by theWilburton complex in the south and theWallington complex andPoldar phase in the north. There are several regional sub groups including theCarp's Tongue complex in the south east, theLlantwit-Stogursey tradition in south Wales, theBroadward complex in theWelsh Marches, theHeathery Burn tradition in the north and the ScottishDuddington,Covesea, andBallimore traditions. The Irish parallel is theDowris Phase.
Alloying metal withlead became a common practice during the period and numerous hoards date to this period. In common with the continentalHallstatt culture, horse harnesses and vehicle fittings were developed and links with the lateUrnfield culture and Hallstatt early C are apparent.
Recently, the Ewart Park Phase, and relatedAtlantic phases, have come to be seen as the probable point of origin of some developments in metalwork, that then spread widely across inland continental Europe. This reverses the previously assumed direction of travel. The types concerned include swords, wingedchapes and buckets.[1]
According to the Portable Antiquities Scheme:
"Most Bronze Age swords in museum collections in Britain come from the Ewart Park Phase. Generally these swords have a bulging shape in the blade at the midway point before narrowing towards the shoulders and the terminal which is fan shaped. Size and number of rivets vary greatly. These swords developed from the Wilburton swords with little influence from the continent and it appears they first occurred in Northern Britain."[2]
The Ewart Park phase was succeeded by theLlyn Fawr Phase which is parallel to Hallstatt C proper.