An archaeological student from Florida struck gold in the UK just 90 minutes after her first excavation when she discovered a rare 9th century artifact that could have had religious or ritual use.
“I couldn’t believe I found anything right away in the first excavation,” said Yara Souza, a student at the University of Newcastle in the UK from Orlando, Florida. “It was actually very overwhelming,” she said, “I was really dodging it!”
The mysterious gold object is only 1.6 inches (4 cm) long and is shaped like a small knob. It is roughly the same as a similar item discovered by a metal detector in 2021, but is identified as a ball head pin dated from about 800 to 1000 in the early Middle Ages.
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Both gold artifacts were found at the same location near a major ancient Roman road called Dellestreat, now in Northumberland county, northeastern England. This road was important during the Roman era, in the second century to send supplies to the northernmost tip of the Scottish empire.
Because gold is associated with high status, experts believe that two similar artifacts are connected and may have had ritual or religious use rather than simple accessories.
Related: 600-year-old amethyst “fits a duke” found in a medieval castle moat in Poland
“We know that for a long time, Dare Street has remained a major highway for the Romans,” James Gerard, professor of Roman archaeology at Newcastle University, said in a statement. “It is possible that this pair of objects was intentionally buried.”
Both objects are further analyzed through the UK portable bone quy bone scheme.
“This project is a great example of how metal detectors and archaeologists can work together to enhance their understanding of the past in Northumberland,” said Andrew Agate, liaison officer for Northeast England, in a statement.
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