An Englishman with a metal detector has unearthed the largest hoard ever found of Anglo-Saxon metal work -- and most of it is made of gold. Kevin Leahy, an archaeologist with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, says "The quantity of gold is amazing but, more importantly, the craftsmanship is consummate... This was the very best that the Anglo-Saxon metalworkers could do, and they were very good. Tiny garnets were cut to shape and set in a mass of cells to give a rich, glowing effect; it is stunning."
Terry Herbert was out puttering around Staffordshire in a recently plowed field when his metal detector started beeping. Once he had pulled about 500 pieces out of the ground, he decided to call in experts -- who recovered another 800 items. Most of the pieces date from around the 7th century, although there's no telling how long they've been in the ground.
The hoard dates back to a time when Britain was in a state of relatively constant turmoil. Christianity was moving in, but there were still many holdouts to older Pagan religions, both Celtic and Saxon in origin. Interestingly, the find includes both Christian crosses and Saxon decorative work. I can't wait to hear more about this!
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Terry Herbert was out puttering around Staffordshire in a recently plowed field when his metal detector started beeping. Once he had pulled about 500 pieces out of the ground, he decided to call in experts -- who recovered another 800 items. Most of the pieces date from around the 7th century, although there's no telling how long they've been in the ground.
The hoard dates back to a time when Britain was in a state of relatively constant turmoil. Christianity was moving in, but there were still many holdouts to older Pagan religions, both Celtic and Saxon in origin. Interestingly, the find includes both Christian crosses and Saxon decorative work. I can't wait to hear more about this!
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Bernard Cornwell has written a wonderful series about the Saxon and Christian invasion of England in The Warlord Chronicles (the first of which is called The Winter King). Yes, it’s yet another retelling of the Arthurian legend, but from a more historical perspective. The main character is a pagan. He also wrote a series called The Saxon Stories (The Last Kingdom, etc), set during the Viking invasion of England, in which the hero is also a pagan.