He Picked Up Metal Detecting After Losing His Beloved Dog, And Then He Found A 16th Century Pendant In The English Countryside
While grieving the death of his beloved dog, Charlie Clarke decided to pick up metal detecting as a hobby.
After metal detecting for just six months, he came across a gold pendant on a friend’s property in the Warwickshire countryside in England.
At first, he thought the target that the machine had sensed was merely a soda can. But to his surprise, when he unearthed the object, he found a heart-shaped gold pendant on a gold chain composed of 75 links.
They were attached by an enameled suspension link that appeared to have been fashioned into a hand.
The pendant featured an ornate script on the back side that included the initials “H” and “K.” The initials referred to Tudor King Henry VIII and his first wife, Katharine of Aragon. They were married from 1509 until 1533. In total, the king had six wives.
The artifact dates to around 1521, indicating that it was likely created in honor of Henry and Katherine’s marriage.
It measured 2.1 inches and weighed 10.6 ounces. The front side was decorated with a red Tudor rose intertwined with the branches of a pomegranate bush.
The Tudor rose represented Henry VIII, while the pomegranate bush symbolized Katharine of Aragon.
Both faces of the pendant were inscribed with writing TOVS + IORS toward the bottom. The phrase is a pun on the French word “toujours,” which means “always.”
veneratio – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
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Upon his discovery, Clarke notified the British Museum of his extraordinary find. The pendant was registered with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, a program run by the British government to record archaeological finds made by members of the public.
According to Rachel King, the curator of Renaissance Europe at the British Museum, the pendant was one of the most significant discoveries in the 25-year history of the program.
The fact that most objects connected to Katharine of Aragon have been lost just makes the artifact even more notable.
After performing an analysis on the pendant, King and her research team believed that it was used as a prize or worn as part of a costume during an event hosted by Henry rather than as a gift for the king and his wife.
Archaeologists have been unable to determine who exactly the pendant was made for or how it ended up buried in the ground.
However, the pendant was of excellent quality, so it was likely that it belonged to a figure of nobility or someone else of a high-ranking position.
When the pendant is sold, Clarke intends to use the money for his 4-year-old son’s education.
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