´óÏó´«Ã½

Shepton Mallet Amulet

Contributed by Somerset County Museum

Shepton Mallet Amulet © Somerset County Council Heritage Service

This silver amulet was excavated in 1990 from a Roman grave forming part of an early Christian cemetery at Shepton Mallet. The grave dated from the late fourth or early fifth century AD. The amulet caused great excitement because it included an early Christian symbol known as the Chi-Rho, a monogram of the first two letters of Christ's name in Greek. Shepton Mallet's theatre was even renamed 'The Amulet' in honour of the remarkable find.

In 2008 the metal of the amulet was scientifically analysed. The analysis proved that the silver had been refined in the 19th century or later. The amulet is a hoax.

Archaeological fakes and forgeries have been created over the centuries for a wide variety of reasons. Why the amulet was made remains a mystery, and the person responsible has never come forward.

Comments are closed for this object

Share this link:

Most of the content on A History of the World is created by the contributors, who are the museums and members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ or the British Museum. The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site’s House Rules please Flag This Object.

About this object

Click a button to explore other objects in the timeline

Location
Culture
Period
Theme

View more objects from people in Somerset.

Podcast

´óÏó´«Ã½ iD

´óÏó´«Ã½ navigation

´óÏó´«Ã½ © 2014 The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.