[A] woman buried in a bed alongside an extraordinary, 30-piece necklace of intricately-wrought gold, garnets and semi-precious stones. It is, by a country mile, the richest necklace of its type ever uncovered in Britain and reveals craftsmanship unparalleled in the early medieval period.
...“This is a find of international importance. This discovery has nudged the course of history, and the impact will get stronger as we investigate this find more deeply.”
The woman...was almost certainly an early Christian leader of significant personal wealth, both an abbess and a princess, perhaps...Experts agree she must have been one of the first women in Britain ever to reach a high position in the church.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/dec/06/medieval-female-bur...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/vikinganglosaxons_ti...
After the Romans left, the area eventually became part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, and Northampton functioned as an administrative centre. The Mercians converted to Christianity in 654 AD with the death of the pagan king Penda.
At some time in the 7th century the district which is now Northamptonshire suffered a simultaneous invasion by the West Saxons from the south and the Anglian tribes from the north. Relics discovered in the county testify to a mingling of people, at the same time showing that West Saxon influence never spread farther north than a line from Daventry to Warwick, and with the extension of the Mercian kingdom under Penda and the conversion of the midland districts ceased altogether.
Abbeys at Medehamstede (now Peterborough) and Pipewell were begun by Peada in 655, and at about the same time foundations were established at Peakirk, Weedon Beck, Castor and Oundle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Northamptonshire
The article does not include photos of artifacts, but there is a good illustration showing how the necklace may have looked as worn by the lady at time of burial.
