The Loftus "Princess"

In Northumbria, in the U.K., near the North Sea coastline, is an archaeological site near the town of Loftus. It contains a circular enclosure of post holes surrounding a raised center, dated to 2200 BCE. It is thought to have been a ritual site. Other structures at the site include the "Oldest House", which predates Stonehenge.

In addition the Neolithic ceremonial site, the area was also the site of an Iron Age settlement. Superimposed, cutting through the Iron Age houses, 109 early medieval graves have been found. "Each was dug carefully into the ground to allow enough room for a body to be laid in the foetal position on its side....Beads, scraps of metal, parts of eroded weapons all suggested that these burials were not Iron Age, but more recent....more excitingly still, they seemed to date from a period when this part of the north of England was undergoing an ideological revolution. They dated from when Christianity was putting its first roots down along the Northumbrian coastline."

"The most significant find, however, was hiding within the mound right in the heart of the cemetery. While other graves stretched along the parameters of the enclosure, this area of raised earth provided a focal point for the burials. Opening the central grave Steve [the archaeologist] found the mother lode; beautiful, symbolic early medieval jewellery of the very highest status. Reaching up above all the other graves, the individual in this barrow of earth was clearly important...This was the grave of a leader, someone treasured by their community, someone with power, wealth, and influence." Source: Janina Ramirez, Femina.

This was the grave of a woman. The Loftus "Princess". Her raised burial mound at the center of 109 smaller surrounding graves was excavated in 2006.

Loftus Boss, original painting by Echoing Multiverse. Available for purchase via Saatchi Art. Prints, stickers, and other merch available via RedBubble or Fine Art America.

She was buried in a bed, with precious gold and garnet jewelry. According the website of the National Portrait Gallery, "The jewellery found in the Princess grave at the cemetery near Loftus included three gold pendants, two glass beads, one gold wire bead, and part of a jet hair pin. The pendants and beads would have been strung together as a necklace. The pendants are made of gold and inlaid with jewels.

"The most important pendant is the ‘shield shaped’ piece. Its shape, the way it was made and the valuable materials it was made from all tell us something about the person it belonged to. The pendant is made from gold and is inlaid with 57 red garnets, each with a thin sheet of gold leaf beneath. Its scallop shape links with early Christianity and is associated with love, fertility and birth. This unique piece is an unparalleled find and would have been made by one of the best craftsmen in the Anglo-Saxon world. This information, along with the way the person was buried, led archaeologists to conclude the grave must have been for a princess." (Source)

The scallop brooch buried with the Loftus "Princess". By Prioryman - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19564719

As stated earlier, this was was an early medieval cemetery, built at the same time that Christianity was beginning to spread across the U.K. This powerful woman's pendant, a scallop shell painstakingly constructed of precious gold and garnet by an expert craftsperson, tells us that she was an early adopter of Christianity, as well as a wealthy and powerful woman. Her bed burial, and the location of the cemetery atop an older ceremonial site, tell us that she hadn't totally broken with older traditions. She was clearly powerful and revered within her community.

Why has she been named the Loftus "Princess"? If someone calls you "Princess", are they trying to compliment your power? Doubtful. Why not "queen", "leader", "noblewoman", "female lord" - (lady just doesn't have the same ring to it). Why do we have so few adequate words to describe powerful women? Why is being called "The Man" a compliment, while almost every female term can easily be used to denigrate? My painting is called The Loftus Boss. It's still not adequate, but it's slightly less offensive.

Also, how did the scallop shell become a Christian symbol? The Christianity I grew up with was exceedingly patriarchal. The scallop shell is Aphrodite's symbol. Water, the womb, fertility. The scallop shell also appears on the plinth of Saint Helena's statue in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Was early Christianity vastly different than the religion we're familiar with today? Was the Old Testament always considered to be part of Christianity? Or is the Old Testament a lie? I've written a blog post on the Apocryphon of John, attributed to John the Baptist. Were these beliefs more widespread in the past?

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