Whether it had to do with dinosaurs to ancient civilizations, it’s hard not to develop assumptions about the ways ancient creatures lived. And those assumptions are usually encouraged by popular images of long bygone eras often found in works of fiction.
But even when those works are based on historical facts, it’s not impossible for the information their creators drew inspiration from to become outdated. And one medieval discovery could reshape how people imagine that era as intensely as evidence of feathered dinosaurs did for the Jurassic Era.
A new project
In April 2022, a housing developer known as the Vistry Group was planning a new neighborhood in Harpole, a village about 60 miles northwest of London.
As AP News reported, the company ordered an archaeological survey of the area before they started building and potentially damaged any priceless, ancient relics.
Just a formality
According to the Smithsonian Magazine, nobody involved thought this plot would yield any artifacts.
That’s because the studied zone wasn’t near any ruins, churches, or any other landmarks that a community could have conceivably surrounded centuries ago. Still, it was a precaution worth taking on the off-chance that something was unearthed.
Discouraging work until it wasn’t
AP News explained that archaeologists dug and examined the area for ten weeks. Throughout most of that time, there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary in the dirt.
But right as this undertaking was seeing its last days, site supervisor Levente-Bence Balázs caught sight of something promising.
The tip of the iceberg
While digging through what he would later describe as “a suspected rubbish pit,” Balázs found some evidence of human teeth.
As The Guardian reported, what he discovered after that was so meaningful that his voice caught with emotion when he described his memories of that rewarding day during an unveiling ceremony in December.
A glint of gold
Soon after he found the teeth, Balázs noticed two shining gold items sticking out of the dirt. And even before it was clear what they were, he was excited about the discovery.
In his words, “These artifacts haven’t seen the light of day for 1,300 years, and to be the first person to see them is indescribable.”
Heavy lifting
According to the BBC, the woman who had been buried at the dig site had decomposed to such an extent that only the small fragments of tooth enamel Balázs had found remained of her body.
So to understand who she was, archaeologists would have to rely on the artifacts she was buried with. But they told Balázs’s team more than any of them expected.
What was found
The crown jewel of Balázs’s history-changing find was this 30-piece necklace dating back to between 630 CE and 670 CE.
According to the Smithsonian Magazine, the gold-bound necklace also featured Roman coins, garnets, painted glass, and other semi-precious stones above its elaborate cross pendant. Two pots and a copper dish were also found alongside it.
More questions than answers
Although the necklace overshadowed them, the pots are worthy of some intrigue as well because they contained a mysterious residue that archaeologists hadn’t yet identified.
As Balázs told The Guardian, “These mysterious discoveries pose so many more questions than they answer. There’s so much still to discover about what we’ve found and what it means.”
Fancier than expected
Although the ornate necklace was an eye-catching find in its own right, the fact that it came from the early Medieval period is leading archaeologists to reconsider how advanced European civilizations were at the time.
According to The Guardian, this is partially due to the fact that the necklace is far and away the most sophisticated of its kind to be unearthed in the United Kingdom.
The pendant
Due to its lavish display of gold and garnets, the cross pendant is easily the most elaborate part of the necklace. However, it seems that it’s also the most mysterious part.
As archaeologists from the Museum of London told the BBC, they now believe it was once half of a hinged clasp that was reused for the necklace. The other half and the clasp’s original purpose remain unknown.
A modest place with hidden riches
The craftsmanship that went into the ornate necklace was also among the best ever produced from the early Medieval period.
And considering that it came from a small, unassuming village with a name that translates to “filthy pool,” it’s hard to imagine a more unlikely location for such an incredible discovery.
The wearer is the real excitement
Although only the crowns of the woman’s teeth have survived, archaeologists are confident that she was indeed a woman and a historic trailblazer.
As Lyn Blackmore — a specialist with the Museum of London’s archaeology team — put it, “Women have been found buried alongside swords, but men have never been found buried alongside necklaces.”
A woman of supreme renown in her time
As The Guardian reported, experts are almost certain that the woman was an early Christian leader of both significant wealth and influence.
More specifically, they described her as someone who likely had the leading role of an abbess but access to the fortune of a princess. And she may have been even more important than this description implies.
A woman of unprecedented influence
Not only did the woman achieve a historically rare position in the earliest of the world’s Christian churches, but experts now believe she was one of the first women in history ever to do so.
As Balázs told The Guardian, “It is an archaeologist’s dream to find something like this.”
More supportive evidence appears
According to Smithsonian Magazine, archaeologists removed blocks of soil to study the woman’s grave further, and what they found only confirmed how much the woman’s community revered her.
Because when researchers exposed the soil to X-rays, they uncovered this large, surprisingly detailed cross. As AP News reported, it was made of silver and placed on her body.
Uncanny accessories
AP News further reported that silver-cast models representing human faces adorned the elaborate cross. Considering that they’ve been lying underground for well over 1,000 years, they’re remarkably well-preserved.
And while it’s not entirely clear who these faces are supposed to represent, the most likely candidates thus far are the apostles of Jesus.
The woman was on the ground floor
While Christianity, in general, was relatively new to England at the time, it was especially new to the region where the woman was buried.
During her lifetime, her grave would have been on the territory of the Kingdom of Mercia. And that kingdom officially converted to Christianity in the same century she was buried.
There was nobody like her
Although necklaces from the same period have been discovered during similar archaeological digs throughout the U.K., the religious figure’s grave indicated that she stood out even among high-status women of her time.
Because neither the graves nor the necklaces of any of the other women found to live in that time match how elaborate hers was.
Painting a Medieval picture
In addition to revealing the more complex nature of the roles women had in early Christianity than previously assumed, the elaborate grave also illustrates how Christian values were expressed at the time.
More specifically, it depicts a fascinating transitional period between the cultural and religious traditions of England at the time.
Pagan traditions still simmering
While it’s clear that the woman was devout in her Christianity, the circumstances of her burial show that the common values modern Christians tend to prize hadn’t quite taken hold in 7th Century England.
In other words, later Christian graves tended to feature far more modest adornments than hers did.
Rapid change
So at the time of the woman’s burial, there would still be some Pagan traditions in place to honor her.
As Simon Mortimer — one of the archaeologists involved in the project — told AP News, “Burying people with lots and lots of bling is a pagan notion, but this is obviously heavily vested in Christian iconography, so it’s that period of quite rapid change.”
A hint to the past
The fact that the woman’s necklace included Roman coins is also worthy of interest because it shows how long those valuable items would have been in circulation after they were no longer official currency in England.
That fact hints at another layer to the overwhelming historical value of the necklace and the burial site at large.
Filling in the blanks
According to AP News, this discovery allows researchers to get a richer understanding of the era after the withdrawal of Britain’s Roman occupiers in the 5th Century.
Specifically, the hazy time period in question falls in between this event and the arrival of Viking raiders in the island nation over 300 years later.
Second only to one major discovery
Experts are also describing the woman’s gravesite as arguably the most significant source of Saxon artifacts since another 7th Century treasure trove discovered during the 1930s.
This ornate purse was just one of the many artifacts recovered from an ancient ship at Sutton Hoo, which is about 100 miles east of Harpole.
The excitement is palpable
Given the possibilities that further study of these newly discovered artifacts could unlock, Balázs’s team could not contain their excitement when they unveiled their findings in December.
As Mortimer told the BBC, “This find is truly a once-in-a-lifetime discovery – the sort of thing you read about in textbooks and not something you expect to see coming out of the ground in front of you.”
Public treasures
In the wake of this discovery, the Vistry Group has waived all rights to the uncovered treasures, which means they are now the property of the British government.
As such, there are plans underway to put the finds from this landmark expedition on public display. In all likelihood, this will either happen in Harpole or as close to the site as possible.
Don’t book any trips yet
But as exciting as this discovery is for everyone involved, that doesn’t mean any of the artifacts in question are ready to end up in a museum.
More analysis and conservation work needs to be done before the items are ready for display, but the hope is that they’ll be viewable once it’s all done.
Not anytime soon
Unfortunately, these conservation tasks are just one of the many parts of an archaeologist’s job that requires painstaking, careful work.
And when a process is precise and delicate, it’s all but guaranteed to be slow as well. In this case, it will likely take at least another two years before the artifacts can go on display.
A secret location
Although the Vistry Group has waived its rights to the artifacts, the company’s regional technical director Daniel Oliver nonetheless remains protective of them.
As such, the location of the dig site remains a closely-guarded secret to those who don’t already know it. And that isn’t likely to change for a while.
Hiding in plain sight
Vistry will not build over the site until the archaeological work is done. However, the site also remains unmarked to avoid attracting any unwanted attention. And that was a very real concern once word about the discovery got out.
As Oliver told The Guardian, “We don’t want people coming with metal detectors. That would be a bit much.”
