Archaeologists released the discovery of a 7th-century necklace found in an English Northamptonshire burial site  and are calling the discovery a “once in a lifetime.” The necklace, which is over 1300 years old, dating from 630 to 670 AD and called the “Harpole Treasure,” was found along with an ornate cross and is believed to have been worn by an early Christian woman, possibly a leader of a church in the area. The necklace is described as “made up of a staggering number of pendants. There are gold Roman coins, semi-precious stones set in gold and decorated glass pendants set in gold. Along with these are several gold bead spacers that spaced out the pendants in the necklace. The centerpiece of this necklace is a large rectangular pendant made of red garnets and gold, with a cross motif.” A similar necklace, called the Desborough necklace, was found in the same area in 1876 and was the finest kind of this necklace discovered, but it is thought to be incomplete, unlike the Harpole Treasure.

The find is especially rare due to the early Christian church’s disapproval of being buried with abundant treasures. “The Harpole Treasure, it’s not the richest [bed burial] in terms of the number of artifacts, but it is the richest in terms of investment of wealth … and it has the highest amount of gold and religious symbolism,” said Lyn Blackmore, a senior finds specialist at the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA). Blackmore stated that the any organic matter in the grave had completely decomposed other than some tiny fragments of tooth enamel, but that the necklace and other details about the site had led the archaeologists to believe the burial site was that of a woman. Levente-Bence Balázs, site supervisor, described the necklace saying, “In 17 years of excavating sites, this was the first time I’ve found gold. It’s not just the artifacts, it’s the sheer magnitude of the find.”

The dig comes as a result of a partnership with the Vistry Group. Vistry was preparing the site for building new homes and partnered with MOLA to ensure the safety of any archaeological finds. On their website, Vistry’s regional technical director praised the find saying, “We are delighted to confirm that these internationally important artifacts will be gifted to the nation and any ownership rights have been waived. This is such an important find it was important for us to do the right thing and ensure they were protected for many years to come. As a business, Vistry is extremely conscious of the legacy that we leave amongst the communities that we build. Having personally seen this treasure on site, I could not be more excited to see how much more has been learned already – it is an amazing find.”