Latest news with #YaraSouza
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeology student finds rare ninth-century gold 'within the first 90 minutes' of her first excavation
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An archaeology student from Florida struck gold in the U.K. just 90 minutes into her first-ever excavation, when she discovered a rare ninth-century artifact that may have had a religious or ceremonial use. "I couldn't believe I'd found something so quickly into my first excavation," Yara Souza, a student at Newcastle University in the U.K. who is from Orlando, Florida, said in a statement. "It was actually quite overwhelming," she said, and "I was really geeking out over it!" The enigmatic gold object is just 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) long and is shaped like a small knob. It is nearly identical to — but a bit larger than — a similar item discovered by a metal detectorist in 2021. That artifact has been identified as a ball-headed pin dated to roughly A.D. 800 to 1000, during the early medieval period. Both gold artifacts were found at the same location near a major ancient Roman road, now called Dere Street, in the county of Northumberland in northeast England. This road was important in Roman times for sending supplies into the northernmost extent of the empire in Scotland in the second century. Because gold was associated with high status, experts think the two similar artifacts are connected and may have had a ceremonial or religious use, rather than being a simple accessory. Related: 600-year-old amethyst 'worthy of a duke' found in medieval castle moat in Poland "We know that Dere Street continued to be a major thoroughfare long after the Romans," James Gerrard, a professor of Roman archaeology at Newcastle University who led the excavation, said in the statement. "It is possible that this pair of objects may have been deliberately buried." RELATED STORIES —Medieval gold ring found in castle in Slovakia has rare purple sapphire imported from Sri Lanka —Apollo gold ring with 'healing serpent' found in 2,000-year-old tomb in Greece —Medieval crowns of Eastern European royalty hidden in cathedral wall since World War II finally recovered Both objects will be analyzed further through the U.K.'s Portable Antiquities Scheme. "This project is a great example of how metal detectorists and archaeologists can come together to add to our understanding of the past in Northumberland," Andrew Agate, the finds liaison officer for North East England, said in the statement. Solve the daily Crossword
BBC News
5 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Northumberland dig students find 9th Century gold object
An international student discovered a piece of 9th century gold just 90 minutes into her first archaeological early medieval object was found by Newcastle University student Yara Souza at a recent excavation in Redesdale, was buried close to the route of Dere Street, a major Roman road which ran between York and Edinburgh and which eventually became part of the modern-day Souza, from Florida in the US, said: "It was amazing to discover something that hadn't been seen for more than a thousand years, I was really geeking out over it." The excavation took place in July following the chance discovery of a similar object by metal detectorist Alan Gray at the same location in Souza was working alongside her fellow Archaeology students and archaeologists from North East Museums to further investigate the site. The find is approximately four centimetres (1.5 inches) long and has a decorative finial at one was high status and only used by the elite and, as Dere Street connected two major religious centres at Jedburgh and Hexham, experts involved in the excavation think both objects could have had a religious or ceremonial James Gerrard said: "This is an exciting find of exceptional quality."We know that Dere Street continued to be a major thoroughfare long after the Romans and it's clear from this discovery that high status people were using it. "It is possible that this pair of objects may have been deliberately buried."The find will be further analysed and could eventually be displayed in the Great North Museum: Agate, the Portable Antiquities Scheme's finds liaison officer for North East England, said the project is "a great example of how metal detectorists and archaeologists can come together to add to our understanding of the past in Northumberland". Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
