A grandmother searching a plowed field on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent has found a medieval gold cross that could be worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Shelley Couzins, 58, took up metal detecting four years ago. She was out with a group in August and had spent about five hours finding little more than what she called “rubbish” when her detector began to beep around lunchtime.
She dug roughly a foot into the soil and uncovered the cross. At first, she thought it was costume jewelry. Other members of the group soon recognized that it was made of real gold.
“It is like a metal detectorist’s dream,” Couzins said. “You only find something like this once in a lifetime.”
The group, Medway History Finders, has not disclosed the field’s precise location, citing concerns about illegal treasure hunters. The cross weighs 10.6 grams and has been reported through England’s treasure process.
Couzins said she was “absolutely gutted” to hand it over. “I like to keep everything I find. I know I will probably never see it again,” she said.
The item has been identified as a medieval gold reliquary cross. One side shows the crucifixion of Jesus, while the other depicts the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus. It can be opened to hold religious relics, but Couzins said she chose not to open it in case she damaged it.
The British Museum is assessing the cross. Its ownership and value have not yet been settled. If it is acquired through the treasure process, it will be valued, and any reward is expected to be shared between Couzins and the landowner. Online estimates have suggested it could be worth at least £20,000, or about $27,000, though there is no official valuation.
Couzins was also relieved that the cross had survived the plowing. “I really love that I saved it,” she said. “If that plough had gone over again, it might have picked that up and broken it in two.”
Though she is disappointed to part with it, she hopes the artifact will be preserved. “I am happy for it to go to a good home, where it needs to go, instead of sitting in my cupboard.”
The Isle of Sheppey has ties to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, who visited Shurland Hall in October 1532. Couzins wonders whether the cross might have some connection to the royal couple, though there is no evidence linking it to either of them.
“There are links here to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn,” she said. “We can’t say it belonged to them, but that history makes this find more interesting because there could be a possibility that it is linked.”
The discovery follows several recent finds of early medieval Christian objects in Europe. Last year, a metal detectorist uncovered a 1,200-year-old gilded Christian cross in a field in Leeds. A few months later, archaeologists in Germany reported finding another Christian cross among more than 200 Viking-era artifacts dating back about 1,000 years.
