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Saxon pendant with Roman jewel found in Kingsey field

The Portable Antiquities Scheme Roman intaglio with Anglo-Saxon-era settingThe Portable Antiquities Scheme
The engraved semi-precious gem is known as an intaglio and shows a figure with a raised whip on a small chariot with four horses

A Roman jewel engraved with a chariot and four running horses was found set in a silver Anglo-Saxon pendant by a metal detectorist.

The small piece of jewellery was found in a field near Kingsey, Buckinghamshire, in May 2019.

Historian Edwin Wood said its "high-status" Sutton Hoo-era owner was someone who would have wanted "a direct link with Rome's power and authority".

It was declared treasure by Buckinghamshire Coroner's Court.

The Portable Antiquities Scheme Roman intaglio with Anglo-Saxon-era settingThe Portable Antiquities Scheme
The pendant, which was designed to be worn on its side, still had its suspension loop attached when it was found

The engraved oval dark green stone has bright orange flecks and dates to between the 1st and 3rd Centuries AD.

During the Roman era it was part of a ring and later repurposed as a pendant between AD500 and 700.

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Metal detecting and the law

  • No search can begin until permission has been given by the landowner
  • All finds belong to the landowner
  • Any find in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that is more than 300 years old, made of gold or silver, or found with gold or silver artefacts, could be treasure under the 1996 Treasure Act
  • These must be reported to the appropriate county finds liaison officer

Source: Portable Antiquities Scheme

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Mr Wood, Buckinghamshire's finds liaison officer, said: "It's the Sutton Hoo era - that time when you get very fancy burials.

"And the elite and powerful people in Britain wanted to demonstrate a connection to a wider world.

"Everyone is aware that just beyond Italy is what what we now call the Byzantine Empire, but it is the eastern Roman Empire."

The Portable Antiquities Scheme Roman intaglio with Anglo-Saxon-era settingThe Portable Antiquities Scheme
The pierced back meant its owner could hold it up to the light to form a cross

The silver 22.8mm x 14.4mm (0.8in x 0.5in) setting has a pierced back.

Mr Wood said: "If you hold it up to light, the gem will light up through the holes, which form a cross.

"Its owner might also be drawing a connection to a wider, growing Christian world that was effectively replacing the Roman Empire."

He added this was a "really good example of responsible metal detecting" and praised the detectorist for reporting his find.

Discover Bucks Museum is interested in acquiring the pendant.

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