Image Source: Glass Almanac
Metal detectorists Paul Gould and Chris Phillips recently came across a 1,400-year-old treasure in the countryside of southwest England.
At one point, Gould and Phillips walked around the countryside, searching for treasure with their metal-detecting group, Ninth Regional Metal Detecting. During their outing, they unearthed a gold raven’s head beneath the soil, according to Glass Almanac.
Gould and Phillips carefully removed the raven’s head from the soil. They did not clean the piece because they believed it might have historical significance.
Gould and Phillips contacted the landowner and local heritage authorities after their discovery. They brought the raven’s head to the British Museum for analysis.
Ultimately, researchers found that the raven’s head dates back to the 7th century, Glass Almanac reported. It was produced during the Anglo-Saxon period.
The raven’s head weighs approximately fifty-seven grams. It is missing one of its eyes. To date, researchers are unsure whether one of the eyes went missing, or it was produced without an eye.
In Norse mythology, the raven relates to Odin, the god of war, wisdom, and death. Odin’s ravens, Hugin and Munin, would fly around the world and report what they saw to him. Meanwhile, Odin sacrificed one of his eyes to gain knowledge and wisdom.
Gould and Phillips discovered a gold ring set with a garnet along with the raven’s head. This set was also classified as Anglo-Saxon.
Those who want to view more Anglo-Saxon treasures can see over 1,100 such items in the WorthPoint database.
Dan Kobialka is a self-employed content writer and editor with about a decade of experience. He produces content across a wide range of industries, including antiques, insurance, and real estate. To learn more about Dan, please visit his website.
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