Stunning necklace found at burial site of powerful Anglo-Saxon woman, perhaps early Christian leader

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

Archaeologists have discovered a stunning 1,300-year-old necklace, made of gold, garnets and other semiprecious stones, at an excavation site in central England earmarked for a housing development.

The necklace and other precious objects, called the Harpole Treasure after the local parish in Northamptonshire county where they were unearthed in April, also revealed a powerful role played by some women in Anglo-Saxon England.

The jewelry piece was buried with a woman of high status, who died between 630 AD and 670 AD, according to researchers at the Museum of London Archaeology who unearthed the treasure. The trove also included a relatively large silver cross, two decorated pots and a shallow copper dish.

The Anglo-Saxon bling suggested the woman was powerful in her own right and extremely devout, perhaps an early Christian leader, a princess or an abbess.



https://www.cnn.com/style/article/gold-necklace-harpole-treasure-female-burial-scn/index.html

[Karadeniz]

1. BEAUTIFUL !!!!

[Judi Lynn]

2. Gold-and-garnet cross necklace found buried with wealthy medieval British woman

By Kristina Killgrove published 12 days ago

Archaeologists in England were surprised to discover an elaborate cross with human faces and a gold-and-garnet necklace in an early medieval burial.


Archaeologists in England have unearthed medieval bling — an elaborate silver cross with human faces and a necklace made of gold with semiprecious gems and Roman coin pendants — in the grave of what might be an early female Christian leader, such as an abbess or potentially even royalty.

The team made the discovery during the groundbreaking for a housing development in Northamptonshire, England. Dating to A.D. 630 to A.D. 670, the items appear to be part of a medieval burial for an elite woman.

The necklace has been cleaned up and reconstructed by Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) conservators. Thirty different pendants and beads give the jewelry an astonishingly modern look, and its centerpiece is a cross made out of garnets inset in gold. The large, rectangular pendant, however, seems to have been originally part of a hinged clasp and then reused, according to MOLA specialists.

The finds have been called the "Harpole Treasure" after the parish in which they were found, and the burial is significant for being a medieval high-status female grave. "We didn't quite realize how special this was going to be," MOLA site supervisor Levente-Bence Balázs said in a statement(opens in new tab). Nothing approaching the ornateness of the Harpole necklace has ever been found in early medieval England, the MOLA team said.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/gold-garnet-necklace-medieval-burial-uk