1,300-year-old ‘mysterious artefact’ found on body of aristocrat put on display

The 'Trumpington Cross' is made of gold and garnet and its value is astonishing.

A 1,300-year-old cross that was buried with the body of an Anglo-Saxon teenager is set to go on display in Cambridge. It will be held in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, just a few miles away from where the object was discovered. The girl’s grave discovered by University of Cambridge archaeologists in 2011, on land being developed for housing. It is thought to be worth more than £80,000 and will go on display with the excavated objects. Although buried with treasured possessions including gold and garnet pins, an iron knife, glass beads and a chain which would have hung off her belt. The object is especially intriguing as it marks the teenage girl as an early convert to Christianity. Jody Joy, senior curator at the museum, said: "MAA has one of the best collections of Anglo-Saxon artefacts in the British Isles – and we are indebted to Grosvenor for their generosity in allowing this beautiful, mysterious artefact to remain in Cambridge. "The Trumpington Cross and other material recovered from the dig are of international quality and significance – but with the strongest connections to Cambridge and the surrounding settlements. "Taking pride of place in our galleries, the cross will allow us to tell the story of the coming of Christianity to the region and some of the history of this previously unknown Anglo-Saxon settlement – as well as the very early years of the English church after St Augustine was dispatched to England by the Pope in 597AD to convert the pagan Anglo-Saxon kings."