The Star Carr Pendant is a unique engraved shale pendant from the

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

site of

Star Carr Star Carr is a Mesolithic archaeological site in North Yorkshire, England. It is around five miles () south of Scarborough. It is generally regarded as the most important and informative Mesolithic site in Great Britain. It is as important to ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

. It has been described as the oldest Mesolithic art in Britain.

Discovery

The pendant was found in 2015 by a team from the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

during excavations led by

Nicky Milner Nicola Jane Milner (born 4 September 1973) is a British archaeologist and academic. She is head of the Department of Archaeology at the University of York. Her research focuses on the Mesolithic period, and the transition between the Mesolit ...

. It was excavated by Tom Bell, a student from the

University of Chester , mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching" , former_names = , established = (gained university status in 2005) , type = Public , endowment = £395,000 (2018) , budget = £118.3 million , chancellor = Gyles Brandreth , vice_chancello ...

on the last days of the excavation. It was found in a

context Context may refer to: * Context (language use), the relevant constraints of the communicative situation that influence language use, language variation, and discourse summary Computing * Context (computing), the virtual environment required to su ...

from the edge of the palaeolake

Lake Flixton A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

Description

The pendant is sub-triangular in shape and measures 31 mm x 35 mm x 3 mm. ED-XRF (energy-dispersive

X-ray fluorescence X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is the emission of characteristic "secondary" (or fluorescent) X-rays from a material that has been excited by being bombarded with high-energy X-rays or gamma rays. The phenomenon is widely used for elemental analysis ...

) was used to prove that it is made from shale. The front face is engraved with a series of parallel, incised lines which often cross each other. It has a perforation, made by drilling through from the engraved side at one of the lobes. On the reverse side to the engraving there is a nick caused by a missing flake of shale in the central region. This may have happened accidentally or intentionally, presumably by something hard striking this surface before it was deposited in the lake.

Significance

The pendant is unique and is the earliest example of

art in Britain. Whilst it is very similar to a number of other pendants from northern European sites, this pendant is unique as it is made from shale, whereas the other examples tend to be crafted from amber. It is also one of the few decorated pendants that have been found within an archaeological context and not as a stray find. Analysis by the research team suggest that there are two phases of markings on the pendant, and that it is possible that more than one person added to it over time. Different interpretations from those who have seen the engravings have suggested that it may represent a tree, a map, a leaf, tally marks, even a representation of the wooden platforms which have been found at Star Carr.

Public display

The pendant is now in the

Yorkshire Museum The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It was opened in 1830, and has five permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology, numismatics and astronomy. History The museum was founded by the Yorkshire Philosophical Soci ...

and first went on public display in February 2016.

References

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External links

Star Carr Pendant website
2015 in England Prehistoric art History of North Yorkshire Collections of the Yorkshire Museum Archaeological sites in North Yorkshire 2015 archaeological discoveries Individual pendants