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Alfred Jewel

9th-century artifactsAlfred the GreatAnglo-Saxon archaeologyAnglo-Saxon artCollection of the Ashmolean Museum
Gold objectsHistory of SomersetIndividual items of jewelleryMedieval European metalwork objectsPages with Old English IPAUse British English from February 2023Works in vitreous enamel
Alfred jewel ashmolean
Alfred jewel ashmolean

The Alfred Jewel is a piece of Anglo-Saxon goldsmithing work made of enamel and quartz enclosed in gold. It was discovered in 1693, in North Petherton, Somerset, England and is now one of the most popular exhibits at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. It has been dated to the late 9th century, in the reign of Alfred the Great, and is inscribed "AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN", meaning "Alfred ordered me made". The jewel was once attached to a rod, probably of wood, at its base. After decades of scholarly discussion, it is now "generally accepted" that the jewel's function was to be the handle for a pointer stick for following words when reading a book. It is an exceptional and unusual example of Anglo-Saxon jewellery.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Alfred Jewel (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Alfred Jewel
Eastern Terrace,

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N 51.374687 ° E -2.440724 °
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Bath Spa University

Eastern Terrace
BA2 9BN
England, United Kingdom
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bathspa.ac.uk

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Alfred jewel ashmolean
Alfred jewel ashmolean
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