Stunning Necklace found at Burial site of a Powerful Dark Age Female Church Leader

An illustration showing how the early medieval woman may have been laid to rest with her valuable necklace and decorated pots. (Image credit: Copyright MOLA; Hugh Gatt)

Archaeologists in England have unearthed medieval bling — an elaborate silver cross with human faces and a necklace made of gold with semiprecious gems and Roman coin pendants — in the grave of what might be an early female Christian leader, such as an abbess or potentially even royalty.

The artifacts were uncovered during the groundbreaking for a housing development in Northamptonshire, England. Dating to A.D. 630 to A.D. 670, the items appear to be part of a medieval burial for an elite woman.

"Then two gold items appeared out of the earth and glinted at me," Balázs told Amelia Hill at The Guardian.

"These artifacts haven't seen the light of day for 1,300 years, and to be the first person to see them is indescribable."

It's not every day archaeologists spot gold glinting in the soil and muck. Leader of a team of five excavators from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), Balázs explained to CNN it was the first time in 17 years of excavating he'd found an artifact made from the precious metal.

His team unearthed an opulent 30-piece necklace of Roman coins, garnets, glass, and semi-precious stones – thought to be the "richest" necklace of its kind ever found in Britain.

The skeleton had decomposed except for a few fragments of tooth enamel, but based on the fact necklaces are almost exclusively found with female bodies, it's fair to assume the remains were once of an affluent or high-ranking woman.

The woman was also buried with a large silver cross, two decorated pots, and a shallow copper dish.

The cross had deteriorated, but its shape remained visible in X-ray imagery taken of the soil surrounding the grave. The cross was decorated with unusual silver human faces, which had survived the passage of time.

The ornate gold necklace

The mix of objects in the grave suggests that the woman lived in an era, around 630 CE and 670 CE, where pagan and Christian beliefs were still intermingling.

"Burying people with lots and lots of bling is a pagan notion, but this is obviously heavily vested in Christian iconography, so it's that period of quite rapid change," archaeology consultant Simon Mortimer told Associated Press journalist Jill Lawless.

The richness and symbolism of the objects suggests the woman was a wealthy Christian leader, such as the head of an abbey or a princess.

Experts agree that she must have been one of the earliest women in Britain to hold a position of power in the church.

"This is the most significant early medieval female burial ever discovered in Britain," Balázs said. "It is an archaeologist's dream to find something like this."

The treasure found at the grave site

About a dozen other graves of high-status women have been found in England, some with similar necklaces. However, few of those sites date back earlier than the 7th century CE as burials of high-status men were more common.

As Christianity took off, valuable objects like necklaces were less likely to be laid at graves as this was frowned upon by the early Christian church, according to Lyn Blackmore, an archaeologist at the Museum of London Archaeology.

"The Harpole Treasure, it's not the richest in terms of the number of artifacts but it is the richest in terms of investment of wealth … and it has the highest amount of gold and religious symbolism," she said at a news briefing.

The archaeologists had been commissioned to excavate the site by a company, Vistry Group, ahead of a housing development.

As the archaeologists announced their findings this week, residents were gearing up to move into the new property. The exact location of the burial site has not been disclosed but it has not been built over.

Statment:

‘Once-in-a-lifetime’ 1,300-year-old gold and gemstone necklace discovered within internationally significant female burial