The piece of jewellery shown above is a 6th Century replica of a Byzantine coin and was found by a metal detectorist near Thaxted, Essex and the discovery of such an early medieval gold coin pendant “literally sheds a light” on a period of a county’s history about which little is known.
It was minted in Europe and then brought over to England. A coroner has declared the find treasure and Saffron Walden Museum hopes to acquire it. The coin is an imitation of one struck in the name of the Byzantine emperor Justin II, who ruled from AD565 to 578. Similar objects from the 6th and 7th Century are rare finds in Essex, unlike in Kent, Suffolk or Norfolk.
The gold is really high quality and an elite object; if it hadn’t been found, we’d have had no idea there were these elite groups of people in this area at this time. In this period we have no written record for the county, it really is in the dark for people working in archaeology and heritage – “so this find literally shines a light on that time,”
Says Historian Lori Rogerson
For more information on this important discovery go to BBC News -Essex