A Renaissance pendant linked to Henry VIII discovered in England

According to the New York Times, devoting time to a hobby can yield more significant benefits than the time invested. One man from Birmingham, England discovered that the rewards of his hobby may be life-changing. Charlie Clarke went for a stroll with his newly purchased metal detector and while walking on his friend's property in Warwickshire, England, he heard an unusually loud bleeping. He dug about a foot into the ground and uncovered a 500-year-old heart-shaped pendant adorned with symbols associated with Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

The pendant featured Catherine of Aragon's emblem, the pomegranate bush, on one side. The bush was intertwined with a double-headed rose, a symbol that the House of Tudor had used since the late 1400s. On the reverse side, there were ornately scripted letters "H" and "K" linked by a ribbon. Initially, Clarke thought the pendant was just a piece of costume jewelry, but its weight convinced him otherwise. As he told the Times, he felt it was "special," and he was absolutely correct.

Clarke's discovery has left specialists and researchers stunned. When Clarke brought the pendant to an expert in Birmingham in 2019, she was so amazed that she was shaking while holding it, and her jaw dropped to the floor. Rachel King, the curator of Renaissance Europe at the British Museum, told the Times that even the museum's researchers found it hard to believe that the pendant was authentic. Although experts have authenticated the pendant, its purpose and how it ended up buried in a Warwickshire field remains a mystery. According to King, no portraits from that era depict people wearing a pendant like this one. She speculates that it might have been a prize awarded during a jousting tournament because it appears to have been hastily crafted. This pendant is particularly rare since there are not many surviving items linked to Catherine of Aragon.

The Guardian reports that metal detecting has become an increasingly popular pastime in the UK, and success stories like Clarke's are likely to pique the interest of many new treasure hunters (referred to as THs by some enthusiasts). For those keen to try their luck, Warwickshire could be an excellent place to start. According to The Guardian, the county has yielded 9,499 finds in the last decade, 156 of which have been recorded as treasures. Finally, the hobbyist emphasized the importance for treasure-hunting enthusiasts to be aware of the law, reminding them that they must obtain permission from the landowner before conducting any searches.