A woman's grave?

Around AD 650-70

These items of jewellery, together with some silver wire rings, may have formed a single necklace. They were discovered in a pit that was possibly a disturbed grave. No human remains survived. The necklace presumably belonged to a woman, who was buried still wearing it.

Gold pendant

This Kentish-style pendant, with its twisted cable border, showcases the skill of Saxon goldsmiths. Graves at Winchester and elsewhere show that wealthy women were sometimes buried wearing necklaces adorned with more than one pendant of this type.

The metal is not pure gold but an alloy of gold and silver, with a very little copper. The glass setting now appears blue but may have been dark red originally.

Beads

The pit contained three small beads of opaque glass (orange, red and turquoise), along with two large purple beads of amethyst. This was a valuable stone, imported from the eastern Mediterranean or India.