She picked up the small, exquisitely carved object and showed it to a friend, “and then we turned it over and we went : ‘Whoa’. Because we hadn’t realised that there was a face on the other side.”
What they had found was a late medieval rosary bead, dating back possibly as far as 1450, that had been carved from bone and, thanks to the anaerobic river mud, perfectly preserved for five centuries.
Its twin designs, of a female face – possibly the Virgin Mary – on one side and a skull on the other were designed as a “memento mori” to remind the wearer of his or her mortality.
“She’s just a woman reminding us that one day we were young and beautiful and full of life, and that we have to be aware that time is passing,” says Nunneley, who has held a mud larking licence – as required by the Port of London Authority – for five years.
Denne historien er fra January 24, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra January 24, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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