Photo: James Wyatt, 3, of Billericay in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, found a gold pendant while searching in a field in 2009. Gulf News
In 2009 James Wyatt from Billericay in Essex joined his father for a casual metal-detecting trip in a field near Hockley at the age of three. During his first use of his father's detector James heard a beep which led him and his dad to dig into the soil and discover a 500-year-old gold pendant.
Front view
The gold pendant weighs about one-third of an ounce and contains 73% pure gold while experts believe it originated during Henry VIII's reign. The experts determined the object to be a reliquary which served as a small container to store sacred relics that could have held important religious and historical worth.
Pendant, reverse
The discovery worth $4 million received UK treasure status before becoming part of the British Museum collection where it continues to be displayed for public viewing.
Side
The 2009 story about the discovery recently appeared on social media platforms to fascinate people worldwide because of its incredible luck and extreme rarity.
Further Reading and Resources: The boy who struck Wikepedia-Hockey Pendant
Image credit:
Hockley Pendant” by the Trustees of the British Museum, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Link to images front back,reverse side
