goldsmithing

Annette Græsli Øvrelid, Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger

Gold filigree fitting

It was found by a walker in a rock crevice. What is it? This spectacular sword scabbard fitting dates to the 6th century, during Norway’s Migration Period. The rectangular object measures 6cm wide by c.2cm high and is just a…

Hilary Wilson on… Earrings

For this issue, Hilary turns her attention to one form of jewellery worn by both women and men in ancient Egypt.

Left This gold armlet, decorated with lion griffins, showcases the skills of Achaemenid goldsmiths. It was found in Tajikistan and can be dated to 500 330 BC. The armlet is 12.3cm in height, while the gaps in the lion griffins would once have held colourful glass, faience, and stone.

Power or decadence? Luxury under the Achaemenids, Athenians, and Alexander the Great

We all know that the finer things in life can transmit messages about wealth and status. In the epic struggles between the Persians and Greeks in the 1st millennium BC, though, luxury came to mean so much more, as Jamie Fraser told Matthew Symonds.

Medieval gold finger ring from Bronington Community

The Past

Bronze Age and medieval finds from Wales declared treasure

Among the Welsh finds declared treasure was a 15th-century gold ring belonging to the Bronington Hoard.

Secrets of the Staffordshire Hoard: skills of the Saxon smiths revealed

The Staffordshire Hoard is a glittering reminder of the creative talents of the Anglo-Saxons – but now pioneering research is revealing that their skills were more far sophisticated than previously imagined, as Carly Hilts learned.