A metal detectorist recently unearthed a 1,000-year-old gold pendant during a treasure search — and experts believe it may represent the “Hand of God.”
Nick Berry, a 58-year-old father of two from Northampton, England, was recently metal detecting on farmland in Ashmansworth, a village in Hampshire, England, when he made the discovery, according to Bournemouth News and Picture Service (BNPS).
The farmland is close to Highclere Castle, the 19th-century mansion best known as the filming location for the TV series “Downton Abbey.”
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Berry said the artifact was in nearly pristine condition after he brushed away the mud.
“There were three of us searching, and I was in the middle,” Berry told the news agency. “I got a really good signal. I dug down and looked into the hole and saw straight away the glint of gold.”
The hobbyist said he had a “really strange feeling and felt quite emotional” as he pulled it out of the ground.
“I just stared at it. I knew straight away it was something very different and could tell it was Anglo-Saxon,” he said.
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“I have been metal detecting for over 30 years and have never seen anything like it. And everyone I have spoken to about it has said the same.”
The artifact is believed to date to the ninth or 10th century. It may have been worn as a necklace pendant by a wealthy or high-status individual, according to BNPS.
Photos reveal the gleaming, hand-shaped artifact with several small indentations on its surface.
“The hand has always had a strong symbolic meaning, like when you shake hands to show the other person you haven’t got a weapon in your hand,” Berry said.
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“It must have belonged to a high-status individual, like some sort of noble person, and [it] was definitely worn around the neck like a talisman.”
No other artifacts were found nearby, suggesting the pendant may have been accidentally dropped by its owner more than 1,000 years ago, BNPS reported.
Berry reported the discovery to a local finds liaison officer, and the artifact was subsequently sent to the British Museum for examination. The pendant has been declared treasure, BNPS said.
Under the treasure process, Berry and the landowner could receive a payment based on the pendant’s market value if it is acquired by a museum or another public institution.
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The artifact could be worth a five- or six-figure sum in British pounds, the news agency reported.
“I have no idea what it is worth. It weighs 1.6g and is very high carat, you can tell by the color,” Berry said.
Julian Evan-Hart, editor of Treasure Hunting magazine, told BNPS the pendant likely symbolized the “Hand of God,” a Christian symbol found on late Saxon and Viking-era silver coins and in religious artwork.
“The hand has often been symbolically related to Christianity and features as the ‘Hand of God’ on several late Saxon/Viking period silver coins and later ecclesiastical artwork,” he said.
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“In this case, it would seem likely that this too represents a ‘Hand of God’ manufactured in the form of a gold pendant.”
Berry called the pendant “the find of a lifetime.”
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“I will never find anything like it again,” he said.
The remarkable find is the latest in a series of archaeological discoveries made by metal detectorists across Britain.
Earlier this year, a pair of friends discovered three Bronze Age gold bracelets dating back more than 3,000 years while metal detecting near Carlisle, England.
Last year, a metal detectorist helped archaeologists uncover an extensive 2,000-year-old Roman settlement in England’s Cotswolds region after discovering two ancient cavalry swords.