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The Independent
08-05-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Gold and garnet raven head from Anglo-Saxon period unearthed in England
Metal detectorists have found a rare gold and garnet raven head in southwestern England's Wiltshire from the Anglo-Saxon period about 1,400 years ago. They have also unearthed a gold band or ring studded with tiny beads and triangular garnets. The raven head, weighing about 60gm, consists of a striking garnet eye and tiny gold spheres outlining its "feather" portions. The artefacts have been dated to the Anglo-Saxon era of 7th century AD, Paul Gould, one of the two detectorists who found them in January said. It's not clear what the raven head represented but previous research suggests it symbolised darkness and death during the Germanic and Viking ages, tied to the Norse god Odin. 'This is a find of a lifetime: Paul and I discover Saxon gold,' the other detectorist, Chris Phillips, said. "It's unbelievable. I'm a bit emotional. The rare objects are now being cleaned and processed by experts at the British Museum. The right side of the raven head was found missing a garnet eye and dirt removed from inside it revealed small pins that might have attached to some other artefact. The raven head could once have been attached to a drinking horn's terminal, Mr Phillips said, citing experts, adding that there was 'none quite like' it. 'The other side appears either to be damaged or is supposed to be like that,' he said. 'The iridescence still shows through.' The question of whether the other gold and garnet artefact is a separate piece of jewellery or part of a larger jewel remains unanswered as well. 'We are not sure if it was part of a finger ring or part of something else, maybe it was attached to the drinking horn,' Mr Phillips said, adding it had all its garnets intact. It remains unclear exactly who made these artefacts, but experts say they fit with Anglo-Saxon or Scandinavian origins. Similar bird-like jewellery pieces have previously been discovered in the Sutton Hoo and Staffordshire hoards with distinct garnet-inlaid eyes and beak shapes. "We hope to be involved in any further investigation of the site, and we'll continue to detect with all correct procedures in place," Mr Phillips said, according to LiveScience.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Metal detectorists unearth dazzling Anglo-Saxon gold-and-garnet raven head and ring: 'It's unbelievable — I'm a bit emotional'
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Metal detectorists found these two gold-and-garnet objects in a field in England. | Credit: Chris Phillips While searching a field in southwest England, metal detectorists stumbled on the "find of a lifetime": two gold-and-garnet objects dating to around 1,400 years ago. Paul Gould, a new detectorist with the Ninth Region Metal Detecting Group, hit on a flat metal object toward the end of a long day of detecting on Jan. 8. He thought the gold band, inlaid with triangular garnets and studded with tiny beads of gold , was an Anglo-Saxon ring. But as fellow detectorist Chris Phillips searched nearby, he hit on something even more extraordinary: a decorated raven's head. "It's unbelievable — I'm a bit emotional," Phillips said in a video of the discovery posted to his YouTube channel. The raven's head, also believed to be Anglo-Saxon and date to the seventh century, included a stunning garnet eye and tiny gold spheres outlining the garnet-flecked "feathers." Phillips estimated it weighed about 2 ounces (57 grams). Related: 'Exceptional' hoard of 800 Iron Age artifacts found mysteriously burned and buried in UK field Ravens were often seen as harbingers of death and darkness in early European historical and mythological writings, and Germanic and Viking Age people associated two ravens with Odin , the Norse god of war and death. But it is unclear what the gold-and-garnet raven's head was meant to represent. After discovering the two gold objects, the group contacted the landowner and the local finds liaison officer, who is part of the U.K.'s Portable Antiquities Scheme . The program encourages members of the public to report the discovery of archaeological objects to enhance the understanding of England's history. Paul Gould and Chris Phillips hold the Anglo-Saxon gold-and-garnet objects they discovered while metal detecting. | Credit: Chris Phillips "The finds will go through the treasure process now, which will take a while," Phillips told Live Science in an email. According to the U.K.'s Treasure Act , artifacts crafted from precious metals that are at least 300 years old can qualify as treasure. As a part of the "treasure process," the objects are being cleaned by experts at the British Museum, where Phillips and Gould went to visit their finds earlier this year, documenting the journey in another video . Initial cleaning revealed the right side of the raven's head, which is missing a garnet eye, as well as incised nostrils on its beak. Phillips noted that, with the dirt removed from the inside of the raven's head, small pins could be seen. Those may have attached the decorative head to a drinking horn, he thinks, similar to an example found in the Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo . RELATED STORIES —Hoard of silver Roman coins found in UK — and some date to reign of Marcus Aurelius —'I was shaking when I first unearthed it': 11th-century silver coin hoard unearthed in England —1,700-year-old Roman hoard includes gold coins depicting illegitimate emperor The ring that Gould discovered was also cleaned by experts, but it is still unclear if it was a piece of jewelry or a decoration that became detached from its original context. Given the discovery of two remarkable pieces of gold, the spot where they were found is now being investigated as a potential archaeological site, Phillips said. "We hope to be involved in any further investigation of the site, and we will continue to detect with all the correct procedures in place," he said.
