Would you look at this:
That is a pure gold 7th c. cross of Anglo-Saxon manufacture and it was found in a muddy field by yet another British dude with a metal detector.
I swear to God it’s like people just tossed huge loot around for people to find under a few of inches of dirt 1300 years later. And England was a backwoods for centuries! Yet still they score and score. I never hear of a metal detector turning up shit in Rome.
The stunning Anglo Saxon artefact was set with red gemstones and might have originally held a relic such as bone from a Disciple or fragment of the Cross.
Measuring just over an inch long, the 18 carat gold has been decorated with fine detail and is thought to have been worn as a pendant.
It is English made with gold that was probably melted down from Merovingian French coins.
The metal detector fellow actually sounds like he knows what he’s doing. There’s a great passage in the article where he describes his process and the discovery.
Wow! What an exiting find. Do you have any idea why they’d speculate that it was made from Merovingian coins? Thanks for your posts, I read them almost every day in Eureka, California.
I don’t know where the Merovingian speculation springs from. Perhaps something in the quality of the gold marks it as coin stock? I’ll see if I can find out.
Thank you for your loyal readership. It tickles me pink. :love:
I’ve grown up all over the world and have always been an avid history buff. Your topics seem to be all over the board so it’s just never dull. I’m fascinated with all of the gold and silver hoards that are still being found- one can only speculate that the depositor was killed and unable to retrieve his cache. One such hoard of Roman coins and jewelry found in southern Germany was large enough to establish an entire museum dedicated to that find.
I grew up in Italy and have always been a history buff. Clearly we have much in common. 😀
You make an excellent point that these massive finds of precious materials were most likely intentionally buried rather than lost or misplaced. Valuables needed hiding from marauders.
It does seem logical that Europe would be PRIME ground for the metal detector enthusiast.
I’ve been thinking for YEARS now that I have to go out and buy myself one of those metal detectors. What’s to lose?
Not a darned thing. Even if you don’t find anything, you get some exercise in the great outdoors and the thrill of what might be around the next corner.
I have been thinking to join the detecting hobby. I like to detect. And I love gold that’s why to Detect gold.It was a nice post.