Name: The Alfred Jewel
What it is: Gold-encased cloisonné gemstone with inscription
Where it is from: Somerset county, England
When it was made: A.D. 871 to 899
In 1693, a farmer ploughing his field in North Petherton in southwest England found an intriguing medieval jewel made from gold, enamel and rock crystal. But it is the remarkable inscription around the edge that sets the piece apart from others. The jewel reads "AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN," an Old English sentence that means "Alfred ordered me to be made."
The Alfred Jewel, which is in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford, is assumed to have been made between 871 and 899, during the reign of King Alfred the Great. Alfred initially ruled as king of the West Saxons (Wessex), one of seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms at the time. In 886, he expanded his power to the entirety of England and has thus been considered the first English king.
The jewel measures 2.4 by 1.2 inches (6.2 by 3.1 centimeters). Its design consists of dozens of small cells filled with colorful enamel paste and accented by thin strips of gold. It depicts a person from the mid-thighs up. The Old English inscription in capital letters around the edge of the jewel's bezel connects it to Alfred the Great.
King Alfred had a reputation as a savvy military leader since he helped fight off Viking invasions in the ninth century. He was also a highly educated man who had numerous religious texts translated from Latin into Old English. According to the Ashmolean Museum, Alfred distributed these religious manuscripts to bishops in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom along with an aestel, which was a kind of bookmark or pointer to help keep one's place while reading. The Alfred Jewel is likely the end of an aestel.
At the base of the jewel, in what looks like the mouth of a dragon or snake, experts have noticed a cylindrical socket. This was likely where the pointer itself was once connected.
The Alfred Jewel was found near Athelney Abbey, originally a tiny fortification. Alfred reportedly hid from Danish Vikings for several months at Athelney before launching a successful counter-attack in 878 that helped him expand his influence across southern England. Alfred then returned to establish a monastery at Athelney and to appoint its first abbot.
Because of its ties to England's first king, the Ashmolean Museum has called the Alfred Jewel "among the most significant of royal relics."
For more stunning archaeological discoveries, check out our Astonishing Artifacts archives.
