Britain's Secret Treasures
Page 8
The Near Lewes Hoard was deposited some time between 1400 and 1250BC, the Middle Bronze Age, so by this point bronze metallurgy had been practised for almost 1,000 years. Metal working would have been the domain of specialist craftspeople – and it’s quite likely that they kept their skills and techniques secret from ordinary farmers and labourers. Part of the appeal of these beautiful, shiny objects was the almost magical way they were made. Heated in a fire hotter than most of us have ever seen, ground-up stone turns into thick, glowing molten liquid which is then poured, spitting and crackling, into a stone mould that transforms it back to a solid – if you had seen a smith at work, he would have looked like an alchemist.
The most distinctive items in the hoard are five bronze ‘Sussex-loop’ bracelets, a style that has, with one exception, only ever been found close to Brighton, East Sussex. ‘Palstave’ axe heads are found across Bronze Age Britain – they would have been bound onto a fork-shaped wooden handle with leather or rawhide strips, and used as a functional tool rather than a weapon. The gold appliqué foil discs are a more exotic addition to the hoard – no others have been found anywhere in Britain, and the amber beads are likely to have come from the Baltic Sea coast (modern-day Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia). The period the hoard dates from is called the ‘Ornament Horizon’, a time when bracelets, necklaces, pins, rings and beads suddenly became incredibly fashionable.
Why was the pot buried?
At the findspot, the archaeologists found what seems to be a portion of an enclosure or possibly a ditch. The hoard might have been buried inside this special area, but only further excavation will reveal the details. It looks certain that the pot was much more than just a place for the safekeeping of valuables. Both the selection of items for the hoard and the fact that it was buried in a ceramic vessel are unusual features for Middle Bronze Age hoards from southern Britain. We don’t know why, but this seems to be a particularly unusual mix of local and continental traditions, probably as a ritual religious offering. It does show how well connected our Bronze Age ancestors were, though, living in a rich and dynamic culture.
We know that Bronze Age people were skilled and confident sailors, travelled to, and traded with, the continent regularly and with the communities along the coastal and river systems, and had sophisticated weapon and craft traditions. They weren’t just skilled metal and ceramic workers, but their textile, wood and bone items would have been equally impressive. It’s simply that the only materials that normally survive 3,000 years in the ground are pottery and metal – everything else rots away.
The find site isn’t an ideal candidate for an extensive dig at this time because it’s too exposed – the experts and landowners are worried that the field will become a target for illegal metal detecting. That’s why this special hoard will only ever be referred to as ‘Near Lewes’ – now we’ve had a glimpse of what this Sussex field has to reveal, it’s in everyone’s interest to protect its secret treasures.
See also:
Ringlemere Cup
Carpow Logboat
Milton Keynes Hoard
Canterbury Pilgrim Badges
Medieval souvenirs thrown in a Canterbury river
Date: 1300–1500, Medieval
Where, when and how found: River Stour, Canterbury; 1987; in-water sieving
Finders: Ian Smith and Roy Davies
Where are they now? Canterbury Museum
www.canterbury.co.uk/Canterbury-Museums.aspx
Also visit: Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury
www.canterbury-cathedral.org Canterbury Tales living history experience, Canterbury
www.canterburytales.org.uk
Read: Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
Ian Smith and Roy Davies spent many days getting wet in the River Stour, the water course that runs through the ancient city of Canterbury. Just as we do now, our ancestors often dropped things into rivers – intentionally and accidentally, and Ian and Roy wanted to recover some of these items. Wading through the thigh-deep water, one shovelled a heap of the gravelly riverbed into a sieve, the other filtered through it to gather any finds.
Amongst other items, over months of searching the pair found dozens of medieval metal badges. Badges have been found at numerous sites across the country, but the sheer number of artefacts retrieved from the river in Canterbury was remarkable. The badges are from a period spanning over two hundred years and most are related to St Thomas Becket, the martyr of Canterbury Cathedral.
The martyrdom of Thomas Becket
In 1161, Thomas Becket was made Archbishop of Canterbury by his friend, King Henry II. It made Thomas the most important person in the English Church, and since he was also Chancellor, the most important person in the country other than the king himself. Henry expected Thomas to govern the Church in a way that would help him rule, supporting him in religious and political matters, both internally and with Rome.
But even though Henry and Thomas had been good friends, once Thomas was made Archbishop, he immediately gave up the Chancellorship and began to challenge the monarch’s powers over the Church. He renounced his former lifestyle, which had been a flash affair of feasting, women, hawking and hunting, in favour of an ascetic, monkish existence – a surprise to everyone, not least his friend, the King. Thomas began battling Henry on his political decisions, and stubbornly refused to sign important constitutions, instead supporting Rome and the Church. Thomas seemed to almost delight in antagonising Henry, even going so far as to threaten him with excommunication.
Excommunication was an incredibly serious act in medieval Christianity. People had a strong and very real belief in the eternal torments of Hell, and individuals excommunicated from the Holy Roman Church were condemned to an eternity of torture and suffering. This was a severe and shocking threat.
King and priest argued and undermined one another, and by late 1170, King Henry, in utter frustration, is said to have shouted to his court, ‘Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?’ Four of Henry’s knights took the king at his word and travelled to Canterbury to silence Becket permanently.
Monks were praying inside the Cathedral at the time the knights arrived, and witnesses saw Becket chased into a corner of the cathedral near the cloisters. The first blow cut Becket down and he dropped to his knees, uttering prayers. Edward Grim, an eyewitness, wrote that:
‘the third knight inflicted a terrible wound as [Becket] lay prostrate. By this stroke, the crown of his head was separated from the head in such a way that the blood white with the brain, and the brain no less red from the blood, dyed the floor of the cathedral. The same clerk who had entered with the knights placed his foot on the neck of the holy priest and precious martyr, and, horrible to relate, scattered the brains and blood about the pavements, crying to the others, “Let us away, knights; this fellow will arise no more!”’
Becket’s brutal murder on the most hallowed ground in the country shocked the nation, and the scandal was reported across the courts of Europe. Becket’s murderers travelled to Rome to seek forgiveness for their crime, and were commanded to each complete fourteen years’ penance, by fighting in the Crusades in the Holy Lands. Henry himself, when he heard the news, was racked with grief and guilt – he had killed his friend, and sinned against the Church.
The rise of a saint
Almost immediately, monks reported that water tinged with Becket’s spilled blood had magical healing properties – the very first pilgrims to Becket’s murder spot collected this so-called ‘Canterbury Water’, and there was brisk business making and selling little lead vessels known as ‘ampullae’, that contained a small amount of the miraculous liquid.
The importance of relics was already firmly established amongst believers, and touching the body or tomb of a saint was thought to give someone a powerful religious experience. Less than three years after his death, the Pope canonised Becket, making him Saint Thomas. Already an important religious site, Canterbury Cathedral became England’s most popular pilgrimage de
stination, and the city grew to accommodate all the new visitors.
Becket’s tomb was in the eastern chapel, at the most sacred end of the cathedral and close to the High Altar. Holes were cut into the top of the tomb so pilgrims could stick their hands inside and get close to the martyred Archbishop. They believed that Thomas had the power to improve health, cure sickness and answer prayers, and his spiritual essence would also be passed on to any item that was placed in contact with him, so visitors also touched religious souvenirs against the saint’s tomb.
“The importance of relics was already firmly established, and touching the body or tomb of a saint was thought to give someone a powerful religious experience”
Just like the stalls and shops around visitor attractions now, stalls opened in Canterbury city to sell souvenirs and religious artefacts to the pilgrims. Along the precinct leading to the cathedral, rows and rows of cheap, mass-produced badges were available to buy, as well as fancier, better-crafted ones if you had more to spend.
Each popular holy shrine across Europe produced a different ‘signature’ badge shape. Pilgrims could collect the badges on their religious travels, proudly showing off all the shrines they’d been to. For some pilgrims, the journey was difficult and arduous, and that was all part of it – you willingly suffered, knowing that God promised you ultimate redemption. For others, pilgrimage was one of the delights of life – they were both holidays and holy-days.
The badges that Roy and Ian found were mostly made from lead cast in the form of Becket’s head and shoulders, with him wearing his Bishop’s headdress, the mitre. These are actually badges in the shape of the reliquary casket at Canterbury that contained part of Becket’s skull, lopped off when he was murdered. The badges have a pin at the back so they could be hooked on to your clothes. Other pilgrim badges were sewn on.
An offering?
It’s not certain why the pilgrim badges were thrown into the River Stour, but they could have been a ‘votive offering’ – like throwing a penny into a fountain or wishing well, which echoes an ancient tradition of watery offerings that appear in many of the treasure stories in this book.
Perhaps pilgrims bought two badges – one to wear with pride as a souvenir of the trip, imbued with the holy power of Saint Thomas, and one to throw into the river as a gift of thanks for safe arrival and as an offering for a safe journey home.
See also:
Ursula’s Virgin Badge
Hockley Pendant
County Durham River Assemblage
George Humber’s Distinguished Conduct Medal
The courage of a WWI soldier remembered
Date: 1919, WWI (1914–1918), Modern
Where, when and how found: Limpsfield, Surrey; 2009; metal detecting
Finder: Manuel Nicdao
Where is it now? Returned to George Humber’s family
Visit: Firepower! Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, London
www.firepower.org.uk
Manuel Nicdao was metal detecting near the Surrey-Kent border when he hit a strong signal in a field. He unearthed a cast silver WWI medal with the engraved words, FOR DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT IN THE FIELD on one side, and King George V’s profile on the other. Around its edge were the details of the person who had won the medal – 35175 Sjt GH Humber RFA – meaning a Sergeant with the Royal Field Artillery. This is a Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), awarded for exceptional bravery, and equivalent to the Distinguished Service award given to officers. It is second only to the Victoria Cross.
Manuel reported his discovery to the local Finds Liaison Officers, not because it was a legal requirement, but because he felt such a personal and precious artefact deserved to be recorded and researched and, if possible, returned to the owner or his family. This is the reason many metal detectorists love their hobby – not for the fluke possibility of striking gold or an enormous hoard, but for the small finds that tell a bigger story, for the finds that offer a unique connection to a stranger from the past, someone who has been forgotten by the ‘Big History’ of kings and queens.
FLOs David Williams and Frank Basford began researching ‘GH Humber’, in an attempt to trace any living family members. Their hunt led them to a George Humber, who was born in 1889 on the Isle of Wight, and had died there aged 94, in 1985. George had reached the rank of Sergeant, fighting on the Western Front for more than three years with the 38th Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery during some of the worst battles of WWI. The London Gazette reported on the award of the medal in September 1919. It recorded George’s wartime exploits, stating that he had ‘been through all the heavy fighting . . . always commanding his detachment in action with great courage and coolness, often under heavy hostile shell-fire and great difficulties’.
The Battle of the Lys
By the end of WWI more than 7 million men had served Britain in battle and over 900,000 paid with their lives. The toll on the soldiers who did survive is almost inconceivable, and yet they continued pushing for a victory. Later research revealed that George Humber was awarded his medal for Continuous Gallantry throughout the war, including for his courageous leadership at the Battle of the Lys in Belgium with D Battery of the Royal Field Artillery, in April 1918.
Their objective was to defend the railway line at Hazebrouk, vital for supplying British troops at the Front. The area was attacked by German forces, and the British troops were outnumbered five to one. In George’s D Battery, twenty men were wounded and eleven men were killed, including the commanding officer. George took command of the survivors and ordered that they stand their ground. They continued defending their position for days, ultimately preventing a full attack on the railway.
Finding George’s family
Two local papers, one in Surrey, where the medal was found, and one on the Isle of Wight, where George was known to have lived, ran the story of Manuel’s medal find. Members of George’s family came forward and were able to reveal the likely story behind the location of its loss.
After the war, George took work in the Edenbridge area in Kent, and met Bessie Geal, a farm labourer’s daughter. The findspot was just a kilometre away from Bessie’s family home, in a secluded field surrounded by woodland. George and Bessie’s grandchildren think he must have lost his special medal whilst courting his future wife.
Before he died, George was presented with a duplicate medal at his nursing home. Now, thanks to the efforts of a committed metal detectorist and the Portable Antiquities Scheme working together, George’s family has been reunited with the original.
See also:
Great War Victory Medal
Boar Badge of Richard III
Prisoner of War Farthing Pendant
Hockley Pendant
The sacred locket in an Essex field
Date: 1500–1550, Post Medieval
Where, when and how found: Hockley, Essex; 2009; metal detecting
Finder: James Hyatt
Where is it now? British Museum, London
www.britishmuseum.org
Five-year-old James Hyatt was playing with his dad’s metal detector in a field near Hockley, Essex, when he heard the beep. Dad and son dug the site of the metal detector’s response, and they struck gold – a small, beautifully decorated pendant, with a loop at the top so it could be strung on to a chain and worn as a necklace.
They had discovered a rare treasure dating from the first half of the 16th century, during the reign of the famous Tudor king, Henry VIII. The Hockley Pendant is a personal reliquary – a locket with an inner compartment designed to contain a religious relic, part of the physical remains of a holy person’s dead body, or a special item that he or she touched or used.
Relics were incredibly important to Christians throughout and beyond the Medieval period because they were thought to contain the spiritual power and essence of the holy person themselves. It was believed that anyone who came into close personal contact with a relic could be especially protected, healed or helped by the saint and, untimately, by God –
relics were the ultimate lucky charms.
To many modern eyes, the relics that were worshipped are somewhat surreal. Mary Magdalene’s shinbone, the fingernails of St Claire, and even the breast milk of the Virgin Mary were venerated and housed in sumptuously decorated cases that celebrated the spiritual treasures inside. They inspired extraordinary devotion from Medieval Christians, and in many places in many faiths, relics continue to be venerated. In fact, the altar in every Catholic church is supposed to have an authentic relic from a saint under or within it, even today.
One of the most powerful and sacred relics in the medieval world was the True Cross – the wooden cross that had been used to crucify Jesus – and the decoration on the Hockley pendant suggests that it was designed to hold a fragment of this powerful object.
On the front of the pendant is a vivid image of a woman supporting a cross splattered in blood, surrounded by plant tendrils. It’s most likely Saint Helena, who was said to have discovered the site of the True Cross in Jerusalem around 326AD and brought the remains back to Europe.
St Helena has legendary links with Essex, where the pendant was found, and she’s the patron saint of Colchester. The town’s coat of arms still represents the True Cross, the red of Jesus’ blood and three crowned nails, in Helena’s honour.
On the back of the pendant is an engraving of the Five Wounds of Christ – the holes in each of his hands and feet where he was nailed to the cross, and the wound in his side, where a soldier pierced his body with a spear. Coming out of these disembodied wounds are droplets of blood, the gory symbols that helped the pendant’s owner focus their prayers and contemplate Jesus’ suffering.