It’s only following the work of the Battlefield Survey that we can be truly sure of the battlefield and death site of Richard. The discovery of crucial evidence came from the dozens of hours of systematic metal detecting completed by Carl and his group, including a silver livery badge close to the death site of the Duke of Norfolk, one of Richard’s supporters, and the largest assemblage of artillery roundshot ever found on a European medieval battlefield.
Carl’s silver-gilt boar, however, was the clincher. It was discovered at the edge of an area that was marshy in medieval times, fitting perfectly with the accounts that the King was killed when his horse was mired. The boar could have dropped or ripped from a knight’s clothes or armour as he rode next to his king in a final charge. Its loss wouldn’t even have been noticed – instantly, the battle was over and the King was dead.
This little boar badge would wait more than 500 years, but thanks to the efforts of a committed metal detecting team, it’s treasured once again.
See also:
Great War Victory Medal
Kirkcaldy Heart Brooch
Raglan Ring
Isle of Wight Axehead
Stone Age axe on a garlic farm
Date: 3500–2100BC, Neolithic
Where, when and how found: Newchurch, Isle of Wight; 2012; chance find on farmland during a school trip
Finder: Imogen Rickman
Where is it now? On display at The Garlic Farm, Isle of Wight
www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk
Nine-year-old Imogen Rickman was at a garlic farm on the Isle of Wight on a school trip, when she spotted a rough stone in the soil – she picked it up, and knew it was something special right away. Imogen had discovered an incomplete Stone Age flint axehead.
The find dates to the Neolithic, or Late Stone Age, around 3500–2100BC. For comparison, the most significant phase of building at Stonehenge in Wiltshire took place from 2620–2480BC, towards the end of the Neolithic. Made from one of the natural flint pebbles that occur in the chalk cliffs about 5km from the findspot, the axehead has been shaped by striking the pebble with another flint to break off flakes from the edges, a process known as ‘knapping’.
The axehead would have been a slender, tapering triangle shape, with a sharp cutting edge on both sides and was used for chopping down trees and carpentry. Imogen only found the butt-end – the striking end is missing. From the discoloration, it appears that the end broke off a long time ago – perhaps in the Neolithic itself, and that’s why the axe was discarded. This was a functional tool, rather than an item of prestige, so it would have been chucked away if it wasn’t useful.
Originally the axehead would have been attached to a wood or bone handle, secured with leather binding and possibly an organic glue to hold it firmly in place.
We know from other excavations that Neolithic people were very good at woodworking – some people have even suggested that we shouldn’t call it the ‘Stone Age’, as they probably had more tools made from bone, wood, antler, leather and textile than they ever had in stone.
Life in the Neolithic
Neolithic Britain had a similar climate to modern Britain, and people lived in small-scale tribes, farming and herding animals, and probably using wild resources too. They ate cattle, sheep and goats, and particularly enjoyed pork for feasting. It’s likely that they used early types of wheat and barley to make bread and beer, and traces of mead (honey wine) have been found on fragments of pottery. Cloth-weaving techniques were known elsewhere in the world at this time, but we don’t have any surviving evidence from Britain. Most clothing was probably made from leather and animal hides, sewn into well-fitting, warm clothes. The hides would have been preserved by tanning; they probably used a process called ‘brain-tanning’, where the animal skin is scraped and cleaned, then the brains are rubbed into the skin to help preserve it, before it’s rinsed and smoked over a cool fire to make it supple, strong and not smelly.
People probably lived within extended family groups – parents, children, grandparents and aunts and uncles all living and working together, and getting together with other people from the wider region for important ritual and religious occasions.
“The people who used this axehead hadn’t developed metal working technology yet”
We aren’t certain about what kind of houses Neolithic people lived in – in some places, archaeologists have discovered marks in the earth from large timber longhouses, but many other buildings are smaller and not quite so regular and there are also some areas with roundhouses built in small villages.
In other areas we don’t seem to have any evidence for dwellings at all – which either means the evidence has simply been lost over time, we haven’t found it yet, or the people could have been living in homes that didn’t make a significant mark on the ground, such as yurt-style homes with animal hides covering the roof and walls, that are erected temporarily and sit on the ground without foundations.
The people who used this axehead hadn’t developed metal-working technology yet. In Britain the first simple items of copper and gold were made from around 2400BC, with bronze working beginning at about 2200BC. They were well-connected and sophisticated though, and trade networks stretched to the continent and all along the British coast as far north as Orkney and Shetland.
The axehead fragment was a remarkable discovery by Imogen – many other people wouldn’t have recognised its importance. Every time a find like this is reported, it helps us understand the ‘big picture’ of where people lived, how they used their land and what technology and tools they had – the everyday lives of ancient people.
See also:
Happisburgh Handaxe
Tisbury Hoard
Bentley Miniature Book
A tiny trinket dedicated to a saint
Date: 1500–1550, Late Medieval
Where, when and how found: Bentley, Hampshire; 1997; metal detecting
Finder: Barry Wood
Where is it now? Donated to the British Museum
Also visit: Winchester Cathedral, Winchester
www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk
British Library, London
www.bl.uk
Explore: Pilgrim routes along the North Downs Way
www.nationaltrail.co.uk/northdowns/
Barry Wood discovered this treasure while metal detecting in a field in Hampshire in 1997. This was before the Portable Antiquities Scheme was set up and before there were local Finds Liaison Officers across the country recording objects found by the public.
Barry watched the first series of Britain’s Secret Treasures in 2012, and like many other people, submitted his find to be assessed by the expert panel. The experts agreed that this tiny bronze book, dating from the early 1500s, is unique.
Made from 18g of cast copper alloy, this book-shaped trinket is 31mm by 22.5mm. The spine and covers have been stamped to make it look like the book has leather covers, with parallel lines imitating the spine.
Late medieval books were rare and valuable artefacts. As the printing press had only just been introduced to England, and most books were still hand-stamped, creating them was a very time-consuming and expensive process.
The miniature has an engraved Latin inscription on the open ‘pages’.
On the first page across four lines, PAX / TIBI / MAR / CE, and on the second page, EVAN / GELI / STA / MEUS.
This translates as ‘Peace (Pax) to you (tibi), Mark (Marce) my Evangelist (Evangelista meus)’, and is an inscription linked to St Mark’s Cathedral Basilica in Venice. Mark is traditionally said to be the author of one of the four Gospels in the Bible, and to have founded the Church of Alexandria in Egypt, one of the four main early churches.
How this miniature book, which likely came from Venice, ended up in a field in Hampshire, we don’t know. The village of Bentley is along the route of the Pilgrim’s Way track from Winchester to Canterbury, so it may have been dropped by a pilgrim in the early 1500s. There’s no evidence of any pin fastening tha
t would have allowed the metal book to attach to your clothes, so it may have been kept in a bag, pouch or pocket instead.
Perhaps the person who lost this was an international pilgrim who had acquired the token on a trip to Venice. Perhaps they had bought it from or been given it by someone local, or perhaps the original owner lived near Bentley but had made the exotic journey to Venice and back themselves. There are many sites associated with St Mark in Europe, including dozens of English parish churches dedicated to this saint, but this kind of item isn’t common. Shrines such as St Thomas Becket’s at Canterbury were destroyed on the orders of King Henry VIII in the mid-16th century, and pilgrimage was discouraged under his new Church of England. So if the miniature book was dropped by a pilgrim, it would probably have been before this time.
The alternative explanation is that the book was a devotional object associated with a large church or a library. Churches and monasteries were centres of learning and held most of the books in circulation in the 16th century, as not many other people could read. It’s possible this intriguing token was lost when someone was moving valuables from one location to another, and it then lay undisturbed for 500 years.
See also:
Canterbury Pilgrim Badges
Seal Matrix of Stone Priory
Clonmore Shrine
Daventry Visard Mask
A lady’s face protector hidden in a wall
Date: 1600–1700, Post Medieval
Where, when and how found: Daventry, Northamptonshire; 2010; found hidden in a wall during building work
Finder: Anonymous
Where is it now? Returned to landowner
Visit: Victoria and Albert Museum, London
www.vam.ac.uk
University of Southampton concealed garments project
www.concealedgarments.org
In 2010, a builder was doing some work on an old internal wall when he discovered something unusual. The wall, probably dating to the 16th century, was four feet thick, and constructed with an inner core of soil, straw and horsehair. In a small niche amongst the straw and hair was a carefully folded velvet mask, with holes for eyes and mouth, and a black glass bead. The finders took the mask to the Northamptonshire Finds Liaison Officer, Julie Cassidy, who identified it as a rare survival of a 1600s visard mask.
‘Visard’ or ‘vizard’ masks were worn by upper-class women from the 1500s up to the early 1700s. One reason for the wearing of these masks was so women could protect their faces from the sun when they were out of the house. Unlike today, where for most people a tan represents health, wealth and fashion, in the 16th century a tan suggested that you were poor and had to work outside – only gentlewomen were able to keep plump and pale skinned. Women would use white lead powder, lemon juice and sulphur to whiten their faces, but the best way to protect your reputation as a lady of distinction was to cover your face in the first place.
The Daventry Mask appears to be a unique survival – it was identified because of the existence of the complete wardrobe of the ‘Lady Clapham’ 17th century doll on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The doll has a small version of a mask almost identical to the Daventry Mask.
The outer layer of the mask is black velvet, the lining is silk, and the inner layers are pressed paper, shaped so that there’s space for the nose and with almond eye holes and a lip-shaped mouth hole. There are no attachments or holes for a ribbon or string to be used to tie the mask to the face. Instead, a small black glass bead has been secured to the inner lining near the mouth using a white thread – the wearer would have gritted the bead between her teeth to secure the mask in place.
A contemporary description confirms the extraordinary way the mask would have been secured:
‘A mask . . . Gentlewomen used to put over their Faces when they travel to keep them from sun burning . . . [It] covers the whole face . . . holes for the eyes, a case for the nose and a slit for the mouth . . . this kind of Mask is taken off and put[on] in a moment of time, being only held in the Teeth by means of a round bead fastened on the inside . . . against the mouth.’ (Randle Holme, The Academie of Armorie, 1688)
It’s not clear why this unusual, and probably uncomfortable, system of wearing the mask came about. It’s possible that women could move their masks around in the way that fans or masquerade masks were used, to ‘choreograph’ social interactions, exposing the face then concealing it in a flirtatious peekaboo. Or perhaps they just didn’t want to muss their fancy hair/hat/wig arrangements with a string tied round their heads.
These masks were not just peculiar to our eyes. Phillip Stubbes, a puritan who detested the fashions of the day, wrote in his 1583 book Anatomie of Abuses, about these ‘visors made of velvet’:
‘. . .if a man, who knew not their guise before, should chance to meet one of them, he would think he met a monster or a devil; for face he can see none, but two broad holes against her eyes.’
It’s not clear why the Visard Mask was carefully placed inside the wall of a house, but a team at the University of Southampton are currently researching the history of concealing used garments and items in walls and floors of homes. It seems that people thought they were powerful tools to give protection from witchcraft or evil spirits. They’re often hidden near openings and thresholds, like fireplaces, chimneys and doorways, and it’s thought that used clothes and shoes, or bottles containing urine, hair or fingernails were considered more powerful because they were personal.
The Daventry Visard Mask was definitely a very personal item, so perhaps that’s why it was put inside the wall. Or maybe it was a family heirloom, incorporated into the house as good luck, or a way of keeping your ancestors with you. What’s certain is that its strange resting place is the reason this rare and bizarre treasure survived for more than 400 years.
“A mask . . . Gentlewomen used to put over their Faces when they travel to keep them from sun burning . . .”
See also:
Navenby Witch Bottle
Beddingham Nose
Winchester Gold Hoard
A unique collection of prehistoric gold jewellery
Date: Around 75–25BC, Iron Age
Where, when and how found: Winchester, Hampshire; 2000; metal detecting
Finder: Kevan Halls
Where is it now? British Museum, London
www.britishmuseum.org
Also visit: Butser Ancient Farm, Waterlooville, Hampshire
www.butserancientfarm.co.uk
In 2000, just outside Winchester, retired florist and amateur metal detectorist Kevan Halls was carefully searching a ploughed field with a slight natural hill. He got a signal, dug down a few centimetres, and found the source: a gold Iron Age brooch. He reported his find and his stunned local Finds Liaison Officer, Sally Worrell, took the brooch for assessment to the British Museum. They immediately knew this was very important, as fewer than a dozen gold Iron Age brooches have ever been found in the whole of northern Europe.
Kevan was asked to mark the locations of any other finds he made. He returned to the field over the following months and discovered an extraordinary series of artefacts – a gold rope necklace of a type that had never been seen before, three more gold brooches, a chain for linking two of the brooches together, two solid gold bracelets and another, smaller gold rope necklace. In total, Kevan found more than 1kg of jewellery, made with 22 and 24 Carat (91–99% pure) gold.
The nine items were declared Treasure by the Coroner, an excavation was conducted at the find site, and the jewellery was acquired by the British Museum as an utterly unique assemblage of 2,000-year-old jewellery.
The jewellery styles
It’s been suggested that the Winchester Hoard is a ‘his and hers’ set of personal adornments: he would wear the 516g necklace and a pair of brooches with a chain between them attached to the front of his woollen cloak; she would wear the smaller necklace (332g) with paired brooches on her cloak or dress, and a pair of bracelets at her wrists.
Th
e brooches are bow-shaped ‘fibula’, the Iron Age ancestor of the modern safety pin, and would have been both functional and decorative. They’re in the style typical of the native north-west European Iron Age cultures, known as ‘La Tène’, and show wear patterns that indicate they were well used before being deposited.
“Feasting items and even imported wine amphorae turn up on burial sites, and early coins suggest that some of these leaders were proclaiming themselves ‘Kings’ for the first time”
The gold rope necklaces, however, are in a style never seen before – wires woven in interlinked rings to make a thick, flexible rope, with cylindrical clasps on each end to make a full circlet. British Iron Age gold neck ornaments were normally solid and rigid rings rather than flexible necklaces (for example see the Blair Drummond Hoard, or the Sedgeford Torc). Torcs were an important status symbol, worn by the leaders and chiefs, and possibly by their family members too. The Winchester torc-necklaces show evidence that they, too, were worn before being deposited.
The Winchester style of manufacture is most similar to the work that was being done in the Mediterranean at the time, and it’s led researchers to suggest that either a craftsperson trained in the Mediterranean world was working local to Iron Age Hampshire, or that the key pieces in the Winchester Hoard were a special gift given by Roman dignitaries to a local leader. Some have gone as far as to suggest that the uniqueness and quality of craftsmanship means that the hoard must have been a gift from one of the great legends of Rome – Julius Caesar, Mark Antony or the Emperor Augustus.
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