The necklace was intact and extremely rare, experts say
Posted on 12/01/2008 3:00:51 PM PST by SunkenCiv
A rare amber necklace believed to be about 4,000 years old has been uncovered in Greater Manchester.
Archaeologists made the find while excavating a cist - a type of stone-lined grave - in Mellor, Stockport.
It is the first time a necklace of this kind from the early Bronze Age has been found in north-west England.
Experts from the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit said a amber necklace was one of the ultimate status symbols of the period.
The necklace consists of dozens of pierced amber beads of various sizes, linked together on a length of fibre.
It was discovered in the cist by experts from the university and local Mellor Archaeological Trust, who said the mystery was now how the material got to the north west.
"Amber is very significant," said Vicky Nash, of the Mellor Archaeological Trust, who found the ancient item.
"It's associated with burials in the prehistoric period but it's not readily available, the nearest source is in the Baltic [region].
"So to find that [necklace] in conjunction with a cist, it shows it was a burial of somebody particularly important at that time."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
The necklace was intact and extremely rare, experts say
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I look forward to your posts! They’re always so cool!
I love amber anyway, but the woman in me is going ooh—look at the clever way that’s put together! The way the end piece also doubles as some sort of hook and loop type of thing so that the necklace wouldn’t come apart and also so it could be easily fastened. LOL
Amber necklace on Blue skin bump!
The woman in me is saying - asymetrical - must be a road map or represent a hierarchial relationship of government/tribes or something symbolic like that.
The man in me is saying that some poor sap probably hunted and field dressed oodles of opossums in the dreary, dank soon-to-be-UK climate and sold them at the local trading market just to be able to afford this prized necklace. And then she no doubt left him for a... hairy (red, mind you) yet sensitive Neanderthal!!!!
But I'm just guessing.
You mean, that after being dragged by her hair to his cave, she spent years with him - bearing him a passle of thrals, picking up his bearskins and dirty loin cloth off the dirt floor of the cave every day, cooking possum for dinner at least a hundred times in tha past year, he gave a fancy necklace to some red haired Neanderthal because she was new and exciting and he wanted to impress her, - lol
So they were grave robbing? This is not like some farmer hoeing his field and dredging up an artifact from centuries ago. If this cist was a grave, then it sounds like the person was buried wearing this.
-PJ
If so, it’s funny they found the necklace and not the neck.
Thanks!
Something like that!
There are enough beads—similar—to have made it way more symmetrical. But what did they know—they were just stupid primitive peoples, right? LOL
I wonder if it fastened in the front or the back?
You know what they say about cats and curiosity! Laughing harder!
It could very well be a male’s necklace. If precious, a sign of leadership - political or spiritual. Makes me wonder about the one white bead. Could it be related to something about astronomy or the seasonal year?
When you shop on Christmas Eve, you get what’s left, even if it ain’t perfect.
Possums are native to North America, not Britain. The paleolithic man in question no doubt killed stoats, badgers and foxes instead.
In any event, the prey beast- be it possum or badger or unicorn- our hero likely toiled away his life just to favor the object of his affections with this necklace. And in the end she ended up with the half the cave, all the fancy stone spears, and custody of children, who, curiously, had red hair. This much is nearly certain.
Unless something is found, such as a lost archive (which is unlikely; the Ogham writing system, which was used long before the Roman conquest of Britain, contrary to what is often claimed by the English, probably wasn’t used for records, or if it was, probably on a perishable medium, and got burned up), I’d guess there’s no way to ever answer that one. :’)
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