British metal detectors have unearthed an impressive collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and garnet pendants that may have been buried underground after being ritually ‘killed’ 1,400 years ago.
In the spring of 2023, two detectorists discovered a collection of four gold pendants and a gold brooch on a hillside in the village of Donnington-on-Bain, about 125 miles (200 km) north of London. Detectors reported the find under the UK Portable Antiquities Scheme, and archaeologist Lisa Brundle, excavations liaison officer for the county of Lincolnshire, studied the extraordinary gem.
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Brundle writes that gold and garnet pendants were very common accessories for high-status women in 7th-century England, but archaeologists typically find them in graves rather than in clusters on hillsides. The pendant also showed signs of wear, damage, and alteration, indicating that it may have been an antique at least 60 years old at the time it was buried.
No other artifacts or human remains were found in Donnington’s pendant, suggesting someone may have intentionally collected the trinket and buried it for safekeeping or ritual purposes, Brundle wrote.
The heaviest artifact in the collection is a D-shaped pendant that weighs approximately 0.2 ounces (6.7 grams). A large garnet is set in a scallop-shaped gold cell at the bottom of the pendant. “The scallop shape itself is symbolically significant, often associated with fertility, and has potentially Christian connotations,” Brandl writes.
The other four accessories were all circular with star and bead motifs. Three of them were pendants, and one was a repurposed dome-shaped part of a brooch. The reuse of the brooch’s central dome is particularly noteworthy, Brundle writes. This is because there are only a dozen or so examples like this.
Brundle said it was unlikely that the Donnington jewelery was a necklace from an Anglo-Saxon woman’s grave. Because no beads or spacers were found to indicate that they were all strung together. In an attempt to solve the mystery, Brundle instead sought an alternative explanation as to why these five items were found in the group.
“One possibility is that the assemblage originated from a blacksmith’s hoard,” Brundle wrote.
By the 7th century, the supply of garnets was dwindling, and itinerant goldsmiths may have collected antique gemstones and transformed them into new accessories. However, how the blacksmith collected the jewels is a matter of debate, as tomb robbers have been known to target the graves of noble women and make off with valuable jewels, Brundle wrote in his study.
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Brundle noted that removing the pendant from circulation is considered a type of “ritual killing,” turning a powerful antique symbol of elite status into a new item no longer associated with the individual.
However, it is also possible that one or more women simply collected and hid their jewelry.
“One interpretation,” Brundle writes, “is that these assemblages represent valuable assets of kinship or social groups that are deliberately hidden during times of instability or transition.”
In the late 6th and 7th centuries, the introduction of Christianity changed the social and political landscape of England, which had been divided into kingdoms. Lincolnshire is divided into three regions, and the treasure trove of gemstones was discovered in one of these, Lindsey. Lindsey was an independent kingdom, but it may have become unstable as it came under the control of the Kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia at various times during this period.
Further archaeological research in the Donnington area “may shed light on the nature of the site and its potential significance,” Brundle wrote, and could shed more light on the changing social and political climate in seventh-century England.
The collection was purchased by the Lincoln Museum in 2025.
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