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| Holderness Cross |
This high-status gold and garnet cross was found in Burton Pidsea on the Holderness Peninsula, East Yorkshire. It dates to the seventh century and is an early example of the Christian symbol of a cross being made in Anglo-Saxon England using a technique known from pagan jewellery of the period. The cloisonne cell work is filled with shaped garnets; only fifty-eight of the original ninety-five garnets survive. X-Ray diffraction has indicated that the garnets were set in a bedding of calcium carbonate, a technique common for Anglo-Saxon jewellery. This technique was being used in Anglia which is where the cross may also have been made.
There are similarities between the Holderness cross and another found in a grave at Ixworth in Suffolk in about 1856.
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| Ixworth Cross |
The grave also contained a jewelled disc brooch (AN1909.454) and some iron staples thought to be from a coffin.
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| Ixworth Brooch |
These items suggest the owner was certain wealthy and probably important to their community.
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| Cross from the Anglo-Saxon Ship-Burial at Sutton Hoo |
