This bucket dates to the 5th – 6th century and it is constructed of staves of yew which are held together by three bronze hoops. Not much information exists about it, and there is no certainty of its purpose.
The bucket was found in a peat bog at Ty’r Dewin in 1881 by David Rowland, farmer whilst digging peat. Tŷ’r Dewin is situated a mile north-west of Bryncir railway station on the line from Afon Wen to Caernarfon. The farmer gave the bucket to the Reverend John Owen, rector of Llanfihangel y Pennant, and after his death in 1900 it was given by his widow to the Reverend Evan Evans, rector of Llansadwrn.
Engraved symbols appear on the exterior and the interior of the bucket. A five pointed star or ‘pentacle’ is repeated three times. The pentacle has been used as a symbol in various cultures representing different meanings and association. It is commonly associated with paganism where it is used as a symbol of protection. This symbol also occurs amongst the mason’s marks in Strata Florida Abbey and also on an engraved pebble found in the Pictish tower at Burrian, Orkney. The 5th and 6th century in Wales was known as the Age of the Saints with the emergence of Christianity.
The bucket was given to the Museum in 1925 by the widow of the rector of Llansadwrn and is on display in Gallery 3, in the archaeology timeline.