They find an exceptional medieval necklace made with Roman coins, gold, garnet, glass and semi-precious stones

Archaeologists of the London Museum of Archeology (Great) found a medieval gold necklace, 1,300 years old, in a grave located near Northampton (England) that has “significant international significance”, according to the BBC.

The jewel, which has been dated between the years 630-670 AD, It has at least 30 pendants made from Roman coins, gold, garnet, glass and semi-precious stones. and apparently belonged to a woman of high social standing, according to experts.

The necklace was found during excavations last summer in a housing estate in Harpole, west of Northampton.

Experts say the necklace, discovered along with other objects near Northampton in central England, it forms part of the largest medieval burial of a woman ever found in the UK.

The woman has long since disappeared: only the enamel of some teeth remains. However, scientists say this discovery will shed new light on life in 7th-century England, a time when Christianity fought paganism for people’s loyalty.

The objects are “a clear statement of Christian wealth and faith”said Lyn Blackmore, an finds specialist at the London Museum of Archaeology, who made the discovery.

“She was extremely devoted, but was she a princess? Was she a nun? Was she more than a nun, an abbess?… We don’t know,” Blackmore said.

The teaHarpole’s treasure

Harpole’s Hoard – named for the town where it was found, about 60 miles (96 kilometres) northwest of London – was unearthed in April by archaeologists working with property developer Vistry Group in a neighborhood of New houses.

On one of the last days of the 10-week excavation, the site supervisor, Levente-Bence Balázs, noticed something glowing in the ground. It turned out to be a rectangular gold pendant inlaid with a cross and garnets, the centerpiece of a necklace that also contained pendants of Roman gold coins and ovals of semi-precious stones.

“When we started to see the first flashes of gold come out of the ground, we knew it was something significant, but we didn’t realize how special it was going to be,” team leader Levente-Bence Balazs told the BBC. of five archaeologists from the aforementioned museum, who analyze the finds.

Balazs believes the experts are “fortunate to be able to use modern analytical methods on the finds and surrounding burial to gain deeper insight into this person’s life and final rites.”

The necklace has a rectangular pendant with a cross motif in the centre as the largest and most intricate element of the jewel.

Two decorated vases and a copper plate were also found at the burial site.

Experts indicated that the skeleton had already completely decomposed apart from tiny fragments of dental enamel, although based on the combination of various finds at the burial site, they believed that a woman of high social status, such as a Christian leader or even someone from the royal family.

With information from EFE and AP