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A mysterious Anglo-Saxon object “made by someone with a real eye for beauty” has been discovered in Norfolk – but experts have no idea what it is.
The ornate silver item, measuring just 0.7 inches (19.4 mm) in diameter, was found by a metal detector near Langham, a small town about 30 miles from Norwich.
It depicts an animal, probably a horse, looking over its shoulder, accompanied by elaborate lines reminiscent of the famous religious Book of Kells.
Experts say the find dates back to the late 8th or early 9th century, but is “completely different” from any other object discovered by detectors in the region.
Exactly what it was used for is open to debate, although it has been speculated that it could be a piece of jewellery, a fragment of clothing or a bottle cap.
The ornate object measures just 19.4 mm (0.7 in) in diameter and has an animal depicted on top, probably a horse.
The object was discovered by a metal detector near Langham, a small town about 30 miles from Norwich.
“It is so small and yet it was created with the same care as a Bible or a piece of jewelry,” said historian Helen Geake. BBC.
‘It has a rear-facing animal, possibly a horse, which fills the space nicely and I love the colour.
“Many times we do not see the colors of the past because the clothes do not survive and the polishes disappear from the environments.”
The object has a flat, circular lined top with straight sides, similar to a bottle cap but much more ornate, and appears wrinkled, but is otherwise in good condition.
Whoever did it would have mixed mercury from Spain with gold dust to highlight the horse on top, according to the expert.
It could have been part of a larger object that broke off and has since been lost, or has yet to be discovered.
Whatever it was, its creation required a lot of specialist work, said Ms Geake, who appeared on the TV show Time Team.
The craftsman would have had “many talents and would have done many different things,” he added.
Experts say it dates back to the late 8th or early 9th century and is “completely different” from any of the other similar mysterious objects discovered by detectorists in the region. Here are shots of the object from multiple angles.
The object has a flat, circular top with straight sides, similar to a bottle cap but much more ornate.
‘It is a mysterious object and you cannot say at all what kind of thing it is.
“But it was made by someone with a real eye for beauty.”
According to Mrs Geake, the spiral pattern on the sides is similar to the markings on the Book of Kells, the illuminated religious manuscript.
The Book of Kells, one of the most famous medieval manuscripts in the world, was previously believed to have been created by a single group of monks around 800 AD.
Spirals are also recognizable in the Lindisfarne Gospel, another illuminated manuscript produced around 715-720 AD. C. and now in the British Library in London.
This suggests that the find has some kind of religious significance and may have been worn, although it doesn’t look like what you would conventionally see around someone’s neck.
Historians know that Anglo-Saxon men and women wore jewelry, but gold and silver necklaces were rare and worn by high-ranking women.
The Anglo-Saxons were fierce warriors and tribes often fought each other over territory. They ruled Britain from 500 years until 1066, when they were conquered by the Normans at the Battle of Hastings (pictured here).
MailOnline has contacted British Museum and Norfolk Museum services for comment.
The public took to Reddit to discuss what the object could be, some more seriously than others.
Someone said that it “looks like a signet ring or a seal for sealing things with wax,” although this practice dates back much later, around the 16th century.
Another speculated that it was a “little metal cup” that was stomped on, while another joked: “More evidence that humans have always liked bling.”