Gold sword pommel acquired by Scottish museum

A gold sword pommel, described as “exceptionally rare” is to go on public display. It was found by a detectorist in 2019 at Blair Drummond neat Stirling and has been valued at £30,000.

The pommel is though to date to about 700AD and is solid gold encrusted with garnets and decorated with religious motifs and creatures. Dr Alice Blackwell, senior curator of medieval archaeology and history at National Museums Scotland (NMS) described the find as “significant at a UK level“. She said that it showed spectacular skill and craftsmanship and combined elements from both Anglo-Saxon England and the kingdoms of Early Medieval Scotland.

She described the pommel “There are two panels, one on each side, and one has a symbolic cross made of geometric shapes, and the other looks like a pot plant. And those twin motifs are the cross, as in the crucifixion, and the tree of life, which is about resurrection, so it’s about death and rebirth. But you also have mythical beasts crawling up the sides, so there’s all sorts going on. It’s so visually rich, and it’s that which sets it apart from anything else that’s been found in the UK.”

Despite its impressive, decorative detail, she said it remains unclear as to who exactly it belonged to more than a thousand years ago.