Rights Holder: West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service
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PENDANT
Unique ID: SWYOR-70F9A6
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published 
An oval gold pendant set with a cabochon-cut red stone, presumably a garnet. The pendant is formed from a gold back-plate, frame and a suspension loop.
The red stone setting is oval in plan, evenly-shaped and with a domed front. It is held within the collar made from an upright strip of gold, fixed to the back-plate (no seam can be seen). Below this, the setting is encircled by a strand of gold beaded wire with plain wire above it. The overlapping ends of these wires can be seen inside the suspension loop.
The suspension loop is ribbed or corrugated and is 2.7mm wide. It is made in one piece with the side wall of the frame, a projecting tab having been decorated with three grooves and bent over towards the back. It is soldered to the reverse and the end is pointed. The ribbing appears to be very worn.
Notes:
Pendants like this one were typically used to decorate high-status necklaces in the seventh century. The most elaborate surviving example is that from Desborough, Northamptonshire (Webster and Backhouse 1991, 28, fig. 13; British Museum 1876,0504.1), upon which garnet pendants (including some of similar shape to the Carthorpe example) alternate with gold bullae pendants and biconical wire beads, with a cross pendant as the centrepiece.
An increasing number of small gold and garnet pendants are being found as stray finds, reported through the Treasure Act and recorded on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database. Examples include LIN-18EEC1 (2011 T691) which is part of a necklace; SF-CD3B63 (2010 T348), DENO-494555 (2009 T542) and LEIC-437467 (2006 T568). This type of pendant has been classified as PE9-b by Hines and Bayliss (2013) and is dated to the seventh century (Hines and Bayliss 2013, 364-365; Geake 1997, 39-40).
As the object is more than 300 years old and more than 10% precious metal, it meets the requirements of the 1996 Treasure Act.
References:
Geake, H., 1997. The Use of Grave Goods in Conversion Period England AD 600-850. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports
Hines, J. and Bayliss, A. (eds.), 2013. Anglo-Saxon Graves and Grave Goods of the 6th and Seventh Centuries AD: A Chronological Framework. London: Society for Medieval Archaeology
Subsequent actions
Current location of find: York Museums Trust : Yorkshire Musuem
Subsequent action after recording: Acquired by museum after being declared Treasure
Treasure details
Treasure case tracking number: 2015T609
Chronology
Broad period: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Subperiod from: Early
Period from: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Subperiod to: Early
Period to: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Ascribed Culture:
Anglo-Saxon style
Date from: Circa AD 600
Date to: Circa AD 700
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 14.2 mm
Width: 10 mm
Thickness: 4.4 mm
Weight: 1.02 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 16th August 2015 - Sunday 16th August 2015
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: PAS form number 2677
Treasure case number: 2015T609
Museum accession number: YORYM : 2017.305
Materials and construction
Primary material: Gold
Secondary material: Gem
Completeness: Complete
Spatial metadata
Region: Yorkshire and the Humber (European Region)County or Unitary authority: North Yorkshire (County)
District: Hambleton (District)
To be known as: Carthorpe
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
No references cited so far.
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Timeline of associated dates
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