On Friday the 13th discovered an extremely rare gold pendant that is unparalleled

Charlie Clarke had only been detecting for six months when he came across the find of a lifetime: he was surveying a field in Warwickshire and picked up a strong, fairly deep signal. As soon as he dug his spade into the ground, he said, he squealed like a little schoolgirl: "My voice sounded really quite high," the laughing Birmingham café owner described the moment he found an early-Tudor pendant with the royal initials.

The heart-shaped pendant is suspended from a 75-link chain. It is made of 24-carat gold and weighs 300 grams. It is decorated with enamel with the initials and symbols of Henry VIII. Tudor and his first wife Catherine of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand II of Spain. Aragon and Isabella I. Castile. The motifs of the ribbons bear the legend TOVS and IORS, above them is a bush with a Tudor rose and a pomegranate - symbols of Catherine. Experts say the pendant has no analogy: 'People say it's like winning the lottery, but it's not. People actually win the lottery. But when was the last time a crown jewel was discovered?" asked Charlie Clark in exaggeration.

Analysis proved the pendant to be genuine. What the experts couldn't uncover, however, despite examining all available inventories and period photographs, was how to link it personally to Henry or Catherine. "However, its quality is such that it was certainly either commissioned by or somehow related to a member of the upper nobility or a high-ranking courtier," said British Museum curator Rachel King. "Nothing so similar and important from the Renaissance has been found in Britain for more than 25 years," she added.

One plausible hypothesis deals with the possibility that the pendant may have been ordered or even presented as the top prize at one of the duelling tournaments Henry was so fond of. Perhaps at the time of the famous Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. Although the size of the pendant is more appropriate for a woman, it may not have been intended to be worn at all: "Nothing remotely similar survives from that time," King said. "At the British Museum we have the largest collection of early Tudor precious metal objects, but none compare to the pendant. We don't know why it was in Warwickshire or who had it there. At least not yet."

Researchers at the British Museum have been able to narrow down the date of the pendant based on Lombard writing and decorative motifs. It was made after 1509 and before 1530, which fits with the timeline and political events. Henry married Catherine in 1509 and banished her from court in 1531. Their marriage was annulled in 1533.

The price of the pendant has not yet been set, but it is certain to be a very interesting sum. The finder will share it with the landowner. Charlie says the reward will give his now four-year-old son the best education possible. Birmingham is a bit of a rough place and I think every parent would want the best education for their children," he said, adding that Charlie junior also wants to be a treasure hunter when he is older.

The pendant was discovered on December 13, 2019, and was only now presented to the public after study and conservation during the presentation of the Treasure Act 2020 and Portable Antiquities Scheme 2021 annual reports. A total of 45,581 archaeological finds were recorded in this period, of which 1,085 are classified as treasure - 96% were found by detectorists, mostly on cultivated land.

Roman Němec

Sources: theguardian.com, thehistoryblog.com

Charlie Clark