Odd Medieval Hoard Could Be Result of 'Ritual Killing'

An extremely rare hoard of seventh-century gold artifacts recovered from the English countryside has astonished scientists, raising questions about why and how such valuable items ended up buried, per a new study published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology.

Medieval Hoard Discovered Near London

The stunning find was made about 125 miles outside of London, in Donington-on-Bain, Lincolnshire, by two metal detectorists in the spring of 2023. The hoard contains remarkably valuable artifacts, all of which date back to the seventh century: four pendants, as well as a piece of a gold-and-garnet brooch. While most such discoveries are made nearby a burial site, that was not the case with this find. These artifacts were found scattered across a hill with no evidence of nearby burials or burial artifacts, making the hoard’s location something of a mystery.

Equally puzzling is the fact that gold-and-garnet pendants were worn almost exclusively by high-status women, as they represented the height of modern craftsmanship in Anglo-Saxon England. All of the jewelry pieces bear evidence of “extensive use…significant wear, damage, and modification,” which scientists believe indicates that the items were already decades old at the time of burial.

Odd Placement Suggests 'Ritual Killing'

One of the brooches contained a circular central piece which was removed before the burial so that it could be reused, something seen in only a few Anglo-Saxon burials. This could mean that the artifacts are part of a smith’s hoard, meaning that they belonged to an older jeweler who was collecting pieces to recycle for their own pieces. But the intentional removal or damage of objects from a burial could also point to a “ritual killing.” The hoard may also have been hidden by local women during a time of upheaval.

How the artifacts were obtained remains an open question. At the time in England, it was not uncommon for grave robbers to plunder the burials of high-status women searching for valuables. The recycling of some pieces could suggest a local material scarcity, which led some to obtain jewelry pieces through extreme measures. According to the study, the hoard’s discovery and contents could help researchers understand how valuable jewelry was circulated, reused, and deposited in medieval times.