Part of a Jet Bracelet from Oxford: 12th century

Jet (a variety of fossilised wood) was used for making bracelets and rings in Roman and again in Late Saxon times in England, the best source being Yorkshire where the bracelet was probably made. It was found in an area which, during the 12th century, was marshland, by St Aldates near the Thames river crossing where it may have been lost.

Within 150 years of the Norman Conquest in the mid-11th century a number of cultural traditions had changed or disappeared, and it appears that after the 12th century the wearing of stone ornaments, going back to prehistoric times, was much less fashionable.

© 1998 Oxfordshire Museum Service, Setúbal Museums and the Benaki Museum