Schifferstadt gold hat from Speyer, Germany, c.1600 BC. One of several hats found in 1835, buried in a pit resting on a slab of burnt clay with 3 bronze axes. Each hat is made from a relatively small gold ingot of hammered into a wafer-thin cone while repeatedly heating the metal so it anneals or softens to avoid brittleness and tearing. To prevent the gold distorting during the hammering.