Imagine being a metal detector searching a field and discovering two beautiful 1400 years old golden objects. It must be a thrill. Especially if one of the items is a stylized raven head in typical Anglo-Saxon style. Below is a drawing of this find, which you can see in all its splendor in this article.

The raven head weighs 57 grams, is made of gold, and the eyes, one of which is missing, are made of shiny red garnet. The head has an impressive beak and is decorated with filigree added in half-cirkels to mimic feathers.

The function or meaning of the head is not certain. As can be read in the article linked above, little pins have been found, which means that it might have been attached to another object, such as a drinking horn.

The raven head was found together with a flat gold band and afterwards, other items were also found. The field wil be searched more thoroughly in 2026.

Concerning the meaning of the head, at this point we can only speculate. The raven has been am ambiguous bird in European folklore since christian times. Where it was originally associated with powerful, venerated deities such as the Norse Odin, the Celtic Morrigan and the Greek Apollo, in Medieval times and later it was mostly seen as a bird of ill omen belonging to the devil. In my opinion it is not very believable to think that someone who made or owned such a gorgeous golden object would view the raven in a negative light.

If you want to know more about the folklore of the raven and other corvids, view my page here!