How old are the oldest surviving earrings?
Jewellery
Jewellery (British English) or jewelry (American English) consists of small decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western perspective, the term is restricted to durable ornaments, excluding flowers for example. For many centuries metal, often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as shells and other plant materials may be used. It is one of the oldest type of archaeological artefact – with 100,000-year-old beads made from "Nassarius" shells thought to be the oldest known jewellery. The basic forms of jewellery vary between cultures but are often extremely long-lived; in European cultures the most common forms of jewellery listed above have persisted since ancient times, while other forms such as adornments for the nose or ankle, important in other cultures, are much less common.
Liudhard medalet
The medalet is part of the only late-6th or early-7th century find of gold jewellery in a grave in a churchyard. All of the coins in the hoard were probably part of a necklace that was buried in a woman's grave. The medalet itself is the earliest surviving Anglo-Saxon coin.
Church of St Nicholas, Melnik
A bronze church bell with a relief Medieval Greek text, considered by Bulgarian researchers to be among the oldest extant church bells in Europe, was unearthed in Melnik in the 2000s. The inscription prompted the researchers to associate the bell with the Church of St Nicholas. It reads: "Copper-smelted church bell, a gift by Alexius, who is the pious Slav, to Saint Nicholas of Myra". The text is thought to reference Alexius Slav, thus it is dated to his rule and the construction of the bell tower. A very similar bell, also found in Melnik, bears an inscription which mentions Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282) and the year 1270 specifically. However, this second bell may not have belonged to the Church of St Nicholas, but rather to another church in Melnik.
Hair jewellery
Although hair jewelry existed prior to the Victorian era, it was this period that saw it flourish as a trade and private craft in Mourning Jewelry. The Victorian Period saw a rise in mourning practices due to its popularity through Queen Victoria, and wearing hair jewelry was seen as a form of carrying one's sentiments for the deceased. Unlike many other natural materials, human hair does not decay with the passing of time. Hair has chemical qualities that cause it to last for hundreds, possibly thousands, of years. Additionally, by the 19th century many hair artists and wig makers had too little employment after the powdered wigs, often worn by noblemen of the 17th and 18th centuries, went out of fashion. The period of sentimentality, characteristic of the Victorian era, offered these craftsmen a new opportunity to earn their income working with hair. Early hair jewelry was usually made for the higher classes in cooperation with goldsmiths, producing beautiful and expensive creations of hair mounted in gold and often decorated with pearls or precious stones. Pieces constructed with precious materials by artisans were naturally very expensive and it wasn't until the middle of the Victorian period, when instructional guides became available, that hair jewelry became popular with the lower classes.
Brooch
The earliest known brooches are from the Bronze Age. As fashions in brooches changed rather quickly, they are important chronological indicators. Many sorts of European brooches found in archaeology are usually referred to by the Latin term fibula.
Church of St John the Baptist, Glastonbury
There has been a set of bells at St John's Church since 1403. The oldest existing bell was originally made in 1612 and inscribed 'I sound to bid the sick repent in hope of life when breath is spent'. This bell was recast in 1992. The ring of six bells was augmented to a ring of eight in 1878 The largest, the tenor bell, is about 14 cwt or about 712 kg and the smallest, the treble, is about 5 cwt or 250 kg.
Thumb ring
Thumb rings have been in use in Asia since the Neolithic period. The first examples were likely made of leather, but artifacts made entirely of leather do not last thousands of years. Surviving artifact rings are made of bone, horn, or stone; presumably most would have incorporated a leather guard. Comparison with historical and modern rings shows little functional change over the millennia. In the cemetery of the small Rui state at Liangdaicun near Hancheng on the Yellow River (where it flows south between the provinces of Shaanxi and Shanxi), a Lord of Rui was interred in a tomb, M 27, dated to the eighth century BCE. His grave goods included two thumb rings, made of gold but of an entirely modern pattern.
Native American jewelry
In the Mississippian culture of the Southeast, dating from 800 BCE to 1500 CE, clay, stone, and pearl beads were worn. Shell gorgets were incised with bold imagery from the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex. These are still carved today by several Muscogee Creek, Chickasaw, and Cherokee jewelers. Long-nosed god maskettes were made from bone, copper and marine shells. These are small shield-shaped faces with squared-off foreheads, circular eyes, and large noses of various lengths. They are often shown on SECC representations of falcon impersonators as ear ornaments. Before Europeans brought glass beads to the southeast in the 16th century, pearls and Job's tears were popular materials for necklaces. Ear spools of stone, or sometimes wood overlaid with copper foil, were popular, and many have been found at Spiro Mounds from 1100-1400 CE.
Bead
A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under to over in diameter. A pair of beads made from "Nassarius" sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery. Beadwork is the art or craft of making things with beads. Beads can be woven together with specialized thread, strung onto thread or soft, flexible wire, or adhered to a surface (e.g. fabric, clay).
Engraved gem
Three of the largest cameo gems from antiquity were created for members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and seem to have survived above ground since antiquity. The large Gemma Augustea appeared in 1246 in the treasury of the Basilique St-Sernin, Toulouse. In 1533, King François I appropriated it and moved it to Paris, where it soon disappeared around 1590. Not long thereafter it was fenced for 12,000 gold pieces to Emperor Rudolph II; it remains in Vienna, alongside the Gemma Claudia. The largest flat engraved gem known from antiquity is the Great Cameo of France, which entered (or re-entered) the French royal collection in 1791 from the treasury of Sainte-Chapelle, where it had been since at least 1291.
In England, a false dawn of gem collecting was represented by Henry, Prince of Wales' purchase of the cabinet of the Flemish antiquary Abraham Gorlaeus in 1609, and engraved gems featured among the antiquities assembled by Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel. Later in the century William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire, formed a collection of gems that is still conserved at Chatsworth. In the eighteenth century a more discerning cabinet of gems was assembled by Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Carlisle, acting upon the advice of Francesco Maria Zanetti and Francesco Ficoroni; 170 of the Carlisle gems, both Classical and post-Classical, were purchased in 1890 for the British Museum.
Colombian emeralds
For thousands of years, emeralds have been mined and considered one of the world's most valuable jewels. The first ever recorded emeralds date back to ancient Egypt, where they were particularly admired by Queen Cleopatra. In addition to their aesthetic value, emeralds were highly valued in ancient times because they were believed to increase intelligence, protect marriages, ease childbirth, and thought to enable its possessor the power of predicting future events.
Elizabeth II's jewels
These 7.5 cm (3 in) long chandelier earrings made by Cartier in 1929 have three large drops adorned with every modern cut of diamond. The earrings were purchased by Margaret Greville, who left them to her friend the Queen Mother in 1942, and Elizabeth's parents gave them to her in 1947 as a wedding present. However, she was not able to use them until she had her ears pierced. When the public noticed that her ears had been pierced, doctors and jewellers found themselves inundated with requests by women anxious to have their ears pierced too.
Mouawad
Mouawad has five Guinness World Records:
The most valuable jewellery coffer in the world — the Flower of Eternity Jewellery Coffer ($3.5M), the most valuable necklace in the world ($55M) — the Mouawad L’Incomparable Diamond Necklace featuring the world’s largest internally flawless diamond, the Incomparable diamond (407.48 carats).
The most valuable handbag in the world—the Mouawad 1001 Nights Diamond Purse ($3.8M).
The most luxurious and expensive piece of lingerie ever made—the Very Sexy Fantasy Bra ($11M)
The most expensive single pear-shaped diamond in the world—the Mouawad Splendor ($12.8M).
Prehistoric music
The oldest flute ever discovered may be the so-called Nicholas flute, found in the Hohle Fels cave, Germany in 2008, though this is disputed. The item in question is a fragment of the femur of a juvenile cave bear, and has been dated to about 43,000 years ago. However, whether it is truly a musical instrument or simply a carnivore-chewed bone is a matter of ongoing debate. In 2012 some flutes, that were discovered years earlier in the Geißenklösterle cave, received a new high-resolution carbon-dating examination yielding an age of 42,000 to 43,000 years.
Belt hook
The earliest archaeological evidence of belt hooks date to the 7th century BC, in East Asia. Belt hooks were made with bronze, iron, gold, and jade. Texts from Warring States period China claim that the belt hook originates from Central Asian nomads, although belt hooks have been found in China predating the Warring States. The equestrian tradition, initially foreign to China, was tightly related to wearing belted pants, thus belt hooks became one of the features of "barbaric" exoticism. As such, the hooks became an object of aesthetic contemplation. For example, Qu Yuan (ca.340-278 BCE) compares beautiful women to the belt hooks "xianbei" 鮮卑.
Schöningen
In archaeology, Schöningen is famous for the Schöningen Spears, four ancient wooden spears found in an opencast mine near the town (Bamford & Henderson 2003). The spears are about 400,000 years old (Klein. 2005. p114), making them the world's oldest human-made wooden artifacts, as well as the oldest weapons, ever found. Three of them were probably manufactured as projectile weapons, because the weight and tapered point is at the front of the spear making it fly straight in flight, similar to the design of a modern javelin. The fourth spear is shorter with points at both ends and is thought to be a thrusting spear or a throwing stick (Bamford & Henderson 2003). They were found in combination with the remains of about 20 wild horses, whose bones contain numerous butchery marks, including one pelvis that still had a spear sticking out of it. This is considered proof that early humans were active hunters with specialized tool kits. The spears are currently on display at the "paläon" visitor centre, opened in 2013.
St Andrew's Church, Wroxeter
The tower has a ring of six bells. The oldest is dated 1598 and was cast by Henry Oldfield II of Nottingham. Three of the bells were cast in the Clibery foundry in Wellington in the 17th century. The newest bell is by John Warner and Sons of London and is dated 1877. The two-manual organ is in the west gallery and was made by Brindley of Sheffield in 1861.
Swabian Jura
In a number of caves (including Vogelherd, Hohlenstein-Stadel, Geißenklösterle and Hohle Fels), all just a few kilometers apart, some of the oldest signs of human artifacts were found. Best known are: a mammoth, a horse head, a water bird, and two statues of a lion man all of surprising quality and all more than 30,000 years old. The oldest known musical instruments have been found here, too: flutes made from the bones of swans and griffon vultures, some 35,000 years old, and in 2004 a flute carved from the tusk of a mammoth dating from the Ice Age, around 37,000 years ago, and the oldest representation of the human body, the Venus of Schelklingen.
Ezerovo, Plovdiv Province
The date of the foundations found in the Thracian mound is V century B.C. A number of other ancient artifacts have been discovered, such as a golden diadem, small golden spoon, and bronze mirror. A gold ring with a Thracian tongue was found in 1912 when excavating a tombstone in the area of Prazenaka. The ring weighs 31.3 grams and the surface on which the letters are engraved has an elliptical shape measuring 1.7 x 2 cm.
Judging by the nature of the artifacts, the researchers conclude that the ring was made specifically for the three-day Thracian funeral ritual, which the Greeks call a prosthesis. The famous artifact is the "Ring of Ezerovo" The ring is dated with the 5th century B.C. The ring contains 18 contemporary Bulgarian language words, according to Bulgarian professor Nikolay Todorov.
Prayer beads
Beads are among the earliest human ornaments and ostrich shell beads in Africa date to 10,000 BC. Over the centuries various cultures have made beads from a variety of materials from stone and shells to clay.
Erp, Netherlands
The oldest surviving clues from the church’s past are two church bells. The larger and older of the two (height 88 cm; diameter 108 cm) carries the inscription: “I am called Maria. In the year of the Lord 1381.” The smaller and younger (height 81 cm; diameter 96 cm) is inscribed with: “I am called Katrina. In the year of the Lord 1412.” The age of the bells makes them rare in the area and they narrowly avoided confiscation in 1942, during the German occupation.
Bow and arrow
The oldest extant bows in one piece are the elm Holmegaard bows from Denmark which were dated to 9,000 BCE. Several bows from Holmegaard, Denmark, date 8,000 years ago. High-performance wooden bows are currently made following the Holmegaard design.
The Stellmoor bow fragments from northern Germany were dated to about 8,000 BCE, but they were destroyed in Hamburg during the Second World War, before carbon 14 dating was available; their age is attributed by archaeological association.
Native American jewelry
Carved stone pendants in the Northeastern Woodlands date back as far as the Hopewell tradition from 1—400 CE. Bird motifs were common, ranging from the stylized heads of raptors to ducks. Carved shells and incised animal teeth, especially bear teeth, have been popular for pendants. Historically, pearls are incorporated into necklace and bear teeth have been inlaid with pearls. Seneca and other Iroquois carved small pendants with human faces, which were believed to be protective amulets, from bone, wood, and stone, including catlinite.
St. Lambert's Church, Bergen
The oldest bell, the Three Kings Bell ("Dreikönigsglocke"), dates from the period around 1500 and is located in its own flèche. The remaining bells (two steel bells preserved in the clock tower) were given an electric bell ringing system by the Herford electrical company of Bokelmann & Kuhlo.
Germany
The discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a coal mine in Schöningen where three 380,000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed. The Neander Valley was the location where the first ever non-modern human fossil was discovered; the new species of human was called the Neanderthal. The Neanderthal 1 fossils are known to be 40,000 years old. Evidence of modern humans, similarly dated, has been found in caves in the Swabian Jura near Ulm. The finds included 42,000-year-old bird bone and mammoth ivory flutes which are the oldest musical instruments ever found, the 40,000-year-old Ice Age Lion Man which is the oldest uncontested figurative art ever discovered, and the 35,000-year-old Venus of Hohle Fels which is the oldest uncontested human figurative art ever discovered. The Nebra sky disk is a bronze artefact created during the European Bronze Age attributed to a site near Nebra, Saxony-Anhalt. It is part of UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme.
Chew Stoke
The Bilbie family of bell founders and clockmakers lived and worked in Chew Stoke for more than 200 years, from the late 17th century until the 19th century. They produced more than 1,350 church bells, which were hung in churches all over the West Country. Their oldest surviving bell, cast in 1698, is still giving good service in the local St Andrew's Church. The earliest Bilbie clocks date from 1724 and are highly prized. They are mostly longcase clocks, the cheapest with 30-hour movements in modest oak cases, but some have high quality eight-day movements with additional features, such as showing the high tide at Bristol docks. These latter clocks were fitted into quality cabinet maker cases and command high prices.
Coin purse
The oldest known purse was found with Ötzi the Iceman who lived around 3,300 BC. Another early example is on Egyptian hieroglyphs, which show pouches worn around the waist. The purse-lid from the Sutton Hoo burial is a very elaborate, probably royal, metalwork cover for a (presumably) leather Anglo-Saxon purse of about 600 AD. In Europe they often showed social status based on the embroidery and quality of the bag. 
In the 15th century, both men and women wore purses. They were often finely embroidered or ornamented with gold. It was also customary for men to give their new brides purses embroidered with an illustration of a love story.
Earless seal
The earliest known fossil earless seal is "Noriphoca gaudini" from the late Oligocene or earliest Miocene (Aquitanian) of Italy. Other early fossil phocids date from the mid-Miocene, 15 million years ago in the north Atlantic. Until recently, many researchers believed that phocids evolved separately from otariids and odobenids; and that they evolved from otter-like animals, such as "Potamotherium", which inhabited European freshwater lakes. Recent evidence strongly suggests a monophyletic origin for all pinnipeds from a single ancestor, possibly "Enaliarctos", most closely related to the bears.
James Kitching
In 1977 James Kitching recovered seven Massospondylus eggs that had been exposed by roadmaking operations in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park in South Africa. In January 2000, Professor Robert Reisz from the University of Toronto at Mississauga in Canada was on a research visit to South Africa and borrowed the fossil eggs to take back to Canada. Diane Scott of his laboratory carried out the difficult preparation under a high magnification microscope. Hans Sues, a Smithsonian palaeontologist who helped analyse the 190-million-year-old eggs — the oldest from a vertebrate animal ever discovered — confirmed that Kitching had been correct in his identification of the eggs. The embryos are so well preserved, that they have yielded remarkable insights into dinosaur biology and behaviour. They are the oldest evidence for caregiving among dinosaurs in that the animals' undeveloped teeth suggest that Massospondylus hatchlings needed help in feeding.
Flute
The oldest flute ever discovered may be a fragment of the femur of a juvenile cave bear, with two to four holes, found at Divje Babe in Slovenia and dated to about 43,000 years ago. However, this has been disputed. In 2008 another flute dated back to at least 35,000 years ago was discovered in Hohle Fels cave near Ulm, Germany. The five-holed flute has a V-shaped mouthpiece and is made from a vulture wing bone. The researchers involved in the discovery officially published their findings in the journal "Nature", in August 2009. The discovery was also the oldest confirmed find of any musical instrument in history, until a redating of flutes found in Geißenklösterle cave revealed them to be even older with an age of 42,000 to 43,000 years.
Meteorite
The oldest known iron artifacts are nine small beads hammered from meteoritic iron. They were found in northern Egypt and have been securely dated to 3200 BC.
Namejs Ring
It has been discovered that Namejs wasn’t alive when the first rings were made in the 12th century; archeologists found the rings mostly in ancient Latgalian lands, proving that Namejs could not have any connection to the ring. The name "Namejs ring" was not used before the 1920s, when two originals were found in ancient graves of Latgale and they become a popular kind of jewelry to imitate. The Namejs ring is a rare archeologist’s find. It has been determined that it would have been a very expensive item to own in the 12th century, as it is mostly made from silver and the manufacturing process was long and complex.
Backes &amp; Strauss
Backes & Strauss is an English company that designs and produces high-end luxury timepieces and jewellery. Founded in 1789 in Hanau, Germany, it is the oldest diamond company in the world.
Freshwater pearl mussel
The freshwater pearl mussel is one of the longest-living invertebrates in existence. The oldest known specimen in Europe was caught in 1993 in Estonia when it was 134 years old.
Handoga
They have also updated shards of ceramics, chipped stone tools and a glass bead. The engravings oldest discovered to date are from the fourth or third millennium BC In the pre-Islamic period, the most famous is the site of Handoga there where the ruins of a village squares subcircular dry stone delivered different objects. An old settlement, Handoga is the site of numerous ancient ruins and buildings, many of obscure origins. Including ceramic shards matching vases used brazier, or containers that can hold water, several choppers and microliths, blades, drills, trenchers basalt, rhyolite or obsidian. A team of archaeologists discover an elephant date of 1.6 million years near the area. Also a pearl orange coralline, three glass paste, etc.. No trace of metal object.
St Mary Magdalene, Yarm
There is a ring of 3 bells. The oldest is dated 1664 weighs 150 kg and is inscribed "Fili Dei Misere Mei". The next oldest is dated 1710, weighs 175 kg and is inscribed "Sono Quantum Valeo". The smallest bell weighs 125 kg, and was recast in 1861 because it had cracked. It bears the names of the churchwardens in that year – James Todd and Wheatley Coates.
Body piercing
Ear piercing has been practiced all over the world since ancient times. There is considerable written and archaeological evidence of the practice. Mummified bodies with pierced ears have been discovered, including the oldest mummified body discovered to date, the 5,300-year-old Ötzi the Iceman, which was found in a glacier in Italy. This mummy had an ear piercing 7–11 mm diameter. The oldest earrings found in a grave date to 2500 BCE. These were located in the Sumerian city of Ur, home of the Biblical patriarch Abraham. Earrings are mentioned in the Bible. In Genesis 35:4, Jacob buries the earrings worn by members of his household along with their idols. In Exodus 32, Aaron makes the golden calf from melted earrings. Deuteronomy 15:12–17 dictates ear piercing for a slave who chooses not to be freed. Earrings are also referenced in connection to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi in the Vedas. Earrings for pierced ears were found in a grave in the Ukok region between Russia and China dated between 400 and 300 BCE.
Among the Tlingit of the Pacific Northwest of America, earrings were a sign of nobility and wealth, as the placement of each earring on a child had to be purchased at an expensive potlatch. Earrings were common in the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt (1550–1292 BCE), generally taking the form of a dangling, gold hoop. Gem-studded, golden earrings shaped like asps seem to have been reserved for nobility. The ancient Greeks wore paste pendant earrings shaped like sacred birds or demigods, while the women of ancient Rome wore precious gemstones in their ears.
Juodkrantė
Stantien & Becker would dig up many pieces of amber shaped as amulets or knick-knacks. At first they would give them out as souvenirs, but then started collecting these items from the Mid Neolithic and the Bronze Ages. Richard Klebs, professor at Königsberg University, described 435 items (pendants, buttons, tubular beads, discs, and figurines of humans and animals) in his book "Stone Age Amber Adornments" in 1882. These ancient "Schwarzorter Funde" are considered to contain the earliest known amber carving finds from the Baltic Sea area (with amber carvings thousands of years older in other locations). About 150 items have detailed images. The collection was exhibited in Berlin, St. Petersburg, London, Chicago. After Klebs' death, Königsberg University purchased his collection. However, during the turbulent times of World War II and the expulsions from East Prussia most of the large collection in Königsberg was destroyed or stolen and only a few items were saved at Göttingen University, previously the sister university of Königsberg. But scientists were able to make replicas from detailed illustrations in Klebs' book.
Regalia of Serbia
The Nemanjić Crown Jewels are the oldest of the surviving pieces of Serbian royal regalia. They were used in the coronation ceremonies of members of the medieval House of Nemanjić. The 14th Century Crown of King Stephen III is kept at Cetinje Monastery in the Republic of Montenegro. Another crown which had once belonged to medieval Serbian rulers is kept in the "Kaiserliche Schatzkammer" (Imperial Treasury) in Vienna, Austria. Also, at the "Kaiserliche Schatzkammer" are found two further crowns once worn by members of the medieval Nemanjić dynasty; one of which was later attributed to Stephen Bocskai. Together with these is a golden mantle (buckle) of unknown origin which is believed to have been captured by the Serbs from the Ottomans at Brasov.
Bead
Beads are known to be one of the earliest forms of trade between the human race. It is thought that is because of bead trading that humans developed language. Beads are said to have been used and traded for most of our history. The oldest beads found to date were at Blombos Cave at about 72,000 years old, and at Ksar Akil in Lebanon, about 40,000 years old.
San Antonio de Padua Parish Church (Pila)
The oldest surviving church bell of Pila was cast on the centenary of the parish in 1681 with the Franciscan emblem and the inscription “San Antonio de Pila.” It survived British invaders in 1762 when the people of Pila submerged it in Laguna de Bay facing the church. It is now the third-oldest church bell in the Philippines. When a new stone belfry was built in 1890, the parish recast an undated old bell in honor of St. Anthony in 1893. Today, the oldest bell of Pila is at the church convent.
Perfume
In 2003, archaeologists uncovered what are believed to be the world's oldest surviving perfumes in Pyrgos, Cyprus. The perfumes date back more than 4,000 years. They were discovered in an ancient perfumery, a factory housing at least 60 stills, mixing bowls, funnels, and perfume bottles. In ancient times people used herbs and spices, such as almond, coriander, myrtle, conifer resin, and bergamot, as well as flowers. In May 2018, an ancient perfume “Rodo” (Rose) was recreated for the Greek National Archaeological Museum's anniversary show “Countless Aspects of Beauty”, allowing visitors to approach antiquity through their olfaction receptors.
Allende meteorite
Allende contains chondrules and CAIs that are estimated to be 4.567 billion years old, the oldest known matter (other carbonaceous chondrites also contain these). This material is 30 million years older than the Earth and 287 million years older than the oldest rock known on Earth, Thus, the Allende meteorite has revealed information about conditions prevailing during the early formation of the Solar System. Carbonaceous chondrites, including Allende, are the most primitive meteorites, and contain the most primitive known matter. They have undergone the least mixing and remelting since the early stages of Solar System formation. Because of this, their age is frequently taken as the "age of the Solar System."
Body piercing
Ear piercing and nose piercing have been particularly widespread and are well represented in historical records and among grave goods. The oldest mummified remains ever discovered were sporting earrings, attesting to the existence of the practice more than 5,000 years ago. Nose piercing is documented as far back as 1500 BC. Piercings of these types have been documented globally, while lip and tongue piercings were historically found in African and American tribal cultures. Nipple and genital piercing have also been practiced by various cultures, with nipple piercing dating back at least to Ancient Rome while genital piercing is described in Ancient India c. 320 to 550 CE. The history of navel piercing is less clear. The practice of body piercing has waxed and waned in Western culture, but it has experienced an increase of popularity since World War II, with sites other than the ears gaining subcultural popularity in the 1970s and spreading to mainstream in the 1990s.
Flute
A three-holed flute, 18.7 cm long, made from a mammoth tusk (from the Geißenklösterle cave, near Ulm, in the southern German Swabian Alb and dated to 30,000 to 37,000 years ago) was discovered in 2004, and two flutes made from swan bones excavated a decade earlier (from the same cave in Germany, dated to circa 36,000 years ago) are among the oldest known musical instruments.
Crown jewels
The Honours, or 'crown jewels', including the Stone of Scone, are kept in Edinburgh Castle. They are the oldest surviving crown jewels in the United Kingdom. The crown dates from at least 1540 and the sceptre and the sword were gifts by Pope Alexander VI and Pope Julius II respectively to the King of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. They were hidden during the Interregnum. The Honours of Scotland were almost forgotten following their last use at the coronation of Charles II in 1651 until they were discovered in a chest inside Edinburgh Castle in the early 19th century.
Crown jewels
The Austrian Crown Jewels (de: "Insignien und Kleinodien") are kept at the "Schatzkammer (Vienna)", the Imperial Treasury located in the Hofburg Palace. They are a collection of imperial regalia and jewels dating from the 10th century to the 19th. They are one of the biggest and most important collection of royal objects still today, and reflect more than a thousand years of European history. The treasury can be quantified into six important parts:
Eternity ring
The concept of the diamond eternity ring was created in the 1960s by diamond merchant De Beers. American investigative journalist Edward Jay Epstein stated that at the time the company had a secret agreement with the Soviet Union which, in return for the creation of a "single channel" controlling the world's supply of diamonds, 'required' the purchase of 90-95% of the uncut gem diamonds produced by Russia. The prevailing fashion at the time, particularly for engagement rings, was for them to be set with a single, large diamond. The Soviet gems, however, were small, often less than 0.25 carats. To avoid stockpiling, De Beers embarked on a campaign of promotion of jewelry containing a number of small diamonds culminating in the eternity ring, which was aimed at older, married women. One campaign slogan aimed at husbands was, "She married you for richer or poorer. Let her know how it’s going."
King eider
The oldest known king eider was a female that lived at least 18 years 11 months. She was ringed (banded) as an adult south of Gambell, Alaska in 1940, and shot in 1958 in Utqiagvik, Alaska.
Jumkil Church
Several medieval furnishings have been preserved in the church. The oldest is the baptismal font, dating from the late 12th century and thus pre-dating the church itself. It was probably made on Gotland by the master stonemason sometimes referred to as Master Semi-Byzantios. The altarpiece of the church dates from the 1470s. In addition, there are several wooden sculptures of saints housed in the church, including depictions of Mary and Saint Olaf. The triumphal cross dates from circa 1500. The church has a rich collection of church silver, the oldest object dating from the 14th century and including a wine chalice donated to the church by the congregation in gratitude for the peace with Russia in 1721.
Stirling
A stone cist, found in Coneypark Nursery in 1879, is Stirling's oldest catalogued artefact. Bones from the cist were radiocarbon dated and found to be over four millennia old, originating within the date range 2152 to 2021 BC. Nicknamed Torbrex Tam, the man, whose bones were discovered by workmen, died while still in his twenties. Other Bronze Age finds near the city come from the area around Cambusbarron. 
It had been thought that the Randolphfield standing stones were more than 3000 years old but recent radiocarbon dating suggests they may date from the time of Bruce. 
The earliest known structures on Gillies Hill were built by Iron Age people over 2000 years ago. Two structures are known: what is currently called Wallstale Dun on the southern end of Touchadam Craig, and Gillies Hill fort on the northwest end of the craig. South of the city, the King's Park prehistoric carvings can still be found. Whether the ancient Maeatae or Manaw Gododdin tribes settled in Stirling is not clear.
History of Germany
The discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible in 1907 shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons ever found anywhere in the world were discovered in a coal mine in Schoningen, Germany in 1995 where three 380,000-year-old wooden javelins 6–7.5 feet (1.8–2.3 meter) long were unearthed. The Neander valley in Germany was the location where the first ever non-modern human fossil was discovered and recognised in 1856; the new species of human was named Neanderthal man. The Neanderthal 1 fossils are now known to be 40,000 years old. At a similar age, evidence of modern humans has been found in caves in the Swabian Jura near Ulm. The finds include 42,000-year-old bird bone and mammoth ivory flutes which are the oldest musical instruments ever found, the 40,000-year-old Ice Age Löwenmensch figurine which is the oldest uncontested figurative art ever discovered, and the 35,000-year-old Venus of Hohle Fels which is the oldest uncontested human figurative art ever discovered.
Lyre
The so-called "lyres of Ur", excavated in ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), date to 2500 BC and are considered to be the world's oldest surviving stringed instruments.
Claddagh ring
As an example of a maker, Bartholomew Fallon was a 17th-century Irish goldsmith, based in Galway, who made Claddagh rings until circa 1700. His name first appears in the will of one Dominick Martin, also a jeweller, dated 26 January 1676, in which Martin willed Fallon some of his tools. Fallon continued working as a goldsmith until 1700. His are among the oldest surviving examples of the Claddagh ring, in many cases bearing his signature.
Diamond (gemstone)
A diamond (from the "adámas", meaning "unbreakable", "proper", or "unalterable") is one of the best-known and most sought-after gemstones. Diamonds have been used as decorative items since ancient times; some of the earliest references can be traced to 25,000 - 30,000 B.C.
Sling (weapon)
The oldest known extant slings from the Old World were found in the tomb of Tutankhamen, who died about 1325 BC. A pair of finely plaited slings were found with other weapons. The sling was probably intended for the departed pharaoh to use for hunting game.
Kirkhaugh cairns
The crushed food vessel identified by Maryon has subsequently been termed a bell beaker, and as one of, or perhaps the, earliest type yet found in Britain. What Maryon termed an earring has also been re-identified, as a hair braid; it is one of the oldest metal objects found in the country. In 2014, during a re-excavation of the cairns using community volunteers, four boys—two of whom were great-grandsons of Alderson—discovered a matching hair braid.
Sling (weapon)
The oldest-known surviving slings—radiocarbon dated to c. 2500 BC—were recovered from South American archaeological sites located on the coast of Peru. The oldest-known surviving North American sling—radiocarbon dated to c. 1200 BC—was recovered from Lovelock Cave, Nevada.
The Obsidian Trilogy
The Elves are the oldest race alive in the "Obsidian Trilogy" world, predating even the Endarkened. They live very long lives of a thousand years, have very explicit formalities and insist on tea ceremonies at every meeting. Elves tend to be obsessed with crafts and small details and have a very discerning eye; Kellen meets a potter who shows him a room full of pottery that would sell for thousands on the human market...and the master potter describes them as failures. Everything is perfectly suited to its surroundings, and anything inharmonious to the eye must be corrected immediately; making the choice of clothes for the day a very important matter.
Lingling-o
Lingling-o (sometimes also spelled "ling-ling-o") are an "omega shaped" type of pendant or amulet that has been associated with various indigenous cultures of the Philippines since the early metal age. The earliest surviving examples of lingling-o, dating back to the metal age, were made out of Nephrite jade, but many later examples were made of shell, gold, copper, and wood; the kind of material suggests differences in the social standing of its wearer. The term was first popularized by H. Otley Beyer, who adapted it from the Southern Ifugao name for such ornaments. The term has since also come to be used as a blanket term for various metal age ornaments found in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Bracelet
The history of Egyptian bracelets is as old as 5000 BCE. Starting with materials like bones, stones and woods to serve religious and spiritual interests. From the National Geographic Society, the Scarab Bracelet is one of the most recognized symbols of ancient Egypt. The scarab represented rebirth and regeneration. Carved scarabs were worn as jewelry and wrapped into the linen bandages of mummies. Myth told of the scarab god, Khepri, pushing the sun across the sky.
Havor Hoard
The gold torc, known as the Havor Ring ("Havorringen") was made in the 1st century. It, along with other neck rings of this kind, were previously believed to be of western Celtic or southeast European origin, but it is now concluded that the Havor Ring could have been made in the Nordic countries. , it is the earliest known well-dated major gold ornament in the Germanic north. The torc is in diameter and weighs close to , with a gold value of about SEK 40,000–50,000 in 2006. However, the value of the neck ring as a historic art object is estimated at tens of million SEK. A copy of it was made for a display at the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm.
St Andrew's Church, Chew Stoke
The oldest bell in the tower dates from 1698 and was cast by the Bilbie family who were bell founders and clockmakers based initially in the village. The Bilbie family produced more than 1,350 bells, which are hung in churches all over the West Country. Supplies of the tin and copper used to make bell metal were probably obtained from brass foundries in Kelston and Bristol. The metal was melted in a wood-burning furnace to over and then poured into a mould made from loam, or foundry mud, from the River Chew. Others in St Andrew's are from the same maker are dated 1718 and 1731. The bells were tuned and re-hung into a new frame in 1908 and again in 1996 with a new bell from John Taylor's foundry in Loughborough replacing the treble. The redundant bell is now on display at the back of the church as a memorial to the Bilbies.
The Victorian square font and pulpit match, but are now largely whitewashed, as is much of the rest of the church. Just inside the porch, on the left of the church door, is a stone figure holding an anchor which was moved to the church from Walley Court with the flooding of Chew Valley Lake. There is an unconfirmed story that this was given to the Gilbert family, then living at the court by Queen Elizabeth I. It is possible that it was originally from the site of a nunnery within the parish which was closed with the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536.
Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom
The Coronation Spoon, which dates from the late 12th century, is silver-gilt and set with four pearls added in the 17th century. A ridge divides the bowl in half, creating grooves into which the Archbishop of Canterbury dips two fingers and anoints the monarch, confirming him or her as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Originally, the spoon may have been used for mixing water and wine in a chalice, and it was first used to anoint a monarch at the English coronation of James I in 1603. It is the oldest surviving piece of regalia, first recorded in the Royal Collection in 1349 as "a spoon of ancient form", and was probably made for Henry II or Richard I. In 1649, the spoon was sold to Clement Kynnersley, Yeoman of the Removing Wardrobe, who returned it to Charles II upon the restoration of the monarchy.
The anointing is followed by investment with coronation robes and ornaments.
Jewellery
The earliest known Jewellery was actually created not by humans (Homo Sapiens) but by Neanderthal living in Europe. Specifically, perforated beads made from small sea shells have been found dating to 115,000 years ago in the Cueva de los Aviones, a cave along the southeast coast of Spain. Later in Kenya, at Enkapune Ya Muto, beads made from perforated ostrich egg shells have been dated to more than 40,000 years ago. In Russia, a stone bracelet and marble ring are attributed to a similar age.
Oracle bone
The earliest oracle bones (corresponding to the reigns of Wu Ding and Zu Geng) record dates using only the 60-day cycle of stems and branches, though sometimes the month was also given.
Attempts to determine an absolute chronology focus on a number of lunar eclipses recorded in inscriptions by the Bīn group, who worked during the reign of Wu Ding, possibly extending into the reign of Zu Geng.
Assuming that the 60-day cycle continued uninterrupted into the securely dated period, scholars have sought to match the recorded dates with calculated dates of eclipses.
There is general agreement on four of these, spanning dates from 1198 to 1180 BCE.
A fifth is assigned by some scholars to 1201 BCE.
From these data, the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project, relying on the statement in the "Against Luxurious Ease" chapter of the "Book of Documents" that the reign of Wu Ding lasted 59 years, dated it from 1250 to 1192 BCE.
David Keightley argued that the "Against Luxurious Ease" chapter should not be treated as a historical text, because was composed much later, presents reign lengths as moral judgements, and gives other reign lengths that are contradicted by oracle bone evidence.
He dated the reign of Wu Ding as approximately from 1200 to 1181 BCE.
Ken-ichi Takashima dates the earliest oracle bone inscriptions to 1230 BCE.
Golden Earring
In 2003 the band briefly returned to the U.S. to record the studio album "Millbrook USA". Recording took place in Millbrook, New York, at the studio of fellow musician Frank Carillo. March 2009 Golden Earring did two gigs in the UK for the first time in 30 years, with one show at Ipswich Regent Theatre on March 13, 2009, and one concert on 14 March 2009 at The Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. Golden Earring celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2011. On October 10, 2011, at the Historical Museum of The Hague, PostNL presented the first postage stamp with music. This stamp was issued in honour of the 50th anniversary of the band. When a smartphone with a special app is held up to the music stamp, Golden Earring's "Radar Love" plays. This stamp is the first in a series of music stamps encoding real sound highlighting the most successful pop albums released in the Netherlands. Band member and co-founder Rinus Gerritsen accepted the first sheetlet from PostNL. "Moontan" has been, internationally, Golden Earring's most successful album. In celebration of the band’s 50th anniversary, PostNL has selected "Moontan" as the subject of the first stamp in this series. The 50th anniversary of Golden Earring was celebrated at the Hague Historical Museum in their hometown The Hague, with a special temporary exhibition on the band, their music, lifetime and influences. On display were singles, albums, posters, T-shirts, instruments, handwritings and portraits. The nightlife scene of the 1960s and 1970s was also highlighted, as well as a remake of a typical teenage bedroom of the 1960s. The expo was called 'Golden Earring—Back Home' and ran until February 2012.
Honours of Scotland
The Honours of Scotland, also known as the Scottish Regalia and the Scottish Crown Jewels, dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, are the oldest surviving set of crown jewels in the British Isles.
Hymenaea allendis
"Hymenaea allendis" is known from a solitary fossil flower which is an inclusion in a transparent chunk of Mexican amber. The specimen is currently housed in the Eliseo Palacios Aguilera Paleontological Museum in Chiapas, Mexico. Mexican amber is recovered from fossil-bearing rocks in the Simojovel region of Chiapas, Mexico. The amber dates from between 22.5 million years old, for the youngest sediments of the Balumtun Sandstone, and 26 million years old for the oldest La Quinta Formation. This age range straddles the boundary between the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene and is complicated by both formations being secondary deposits for the amber; the age range is therefore only the youngest that it might be. The fossil was examined by paleobotanists Laura Calvillo-Canadell and Sergio Cevallos-Ferriz of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and Lourdes Rico-Arce of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, United Kingdom; Calvillo-Canadell, Cevallos-Ferriz and Rico-Arce's description of the species was published in a 2010 article in the "Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology". The etymology of the chosen specific name "allendis" is in reference to the town Simojovel de Allende which is located within the amber mining area.
Hadean zircon
Hadean zircon is the oldest-surviving crustal material from the Earth's earliest geological time period, the Hadean eon, about 4 billion years ago. Zircon is a mineral that is commonly used for radiometric dating because it is highly resistant to chemical changes and appears in the form of small crystals or grains in most igneous and metamorphic host rocks.
Bohemian Crown Jewels
The Bohemian Crown Jewels, sometimes called the Czech Crown Jewels (), include the Crown of Saint Wenceslas ("Svatováclavská koruna"), the royal orb and sceptre, the coronation vestments of the Kings of Bohemia, the gold reliquary cross, and St. Wenceslas' sword. They were originally held in Prague and Karlštejn Castle, designed in the 14th century by Matthias of Arras. Since 1791 they have been stored in St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle. Reproductions of the jewels are permanently exhibited in the historical exposition at the former royal palace in the castle. The crown was made for the coronation of Charles IV in 1347, making it the fourth oldest in Europe.
Bronze
Bronzes of various metallurgical properties are widely used in struck idiophones around the world, notably bells, singing bowls, gongs, cymbals, and other idiophones from Asia. Examples include Tibetan singing bowls, temple bells of many sizes and shapes, gongs, Javanese gamelan, and other bronze musical instruments. The earliest bronze archeological finds in Indonesia date from 1–2 BC, including flat plates probably suspended and struck by a wooden or bone mallet. Ancient bronze drums from Thailand and Vietnam date back 2,000 years. Bronze bells from Thailand and Cambodia date back to 3,600 BC.
Léa Stein
The brooches were made in two periods: vintage (1969 to 1981) and modern (1991 —). Each brooch has a distinctive v-shaped metal clasp inscribed with 'Lea Stein Paris'. Some collectors suggest that the clasp determines which era it was made in. Vintage brooches had the clasps heat mounted into the plastic; in modern brooches, the clasps are riveted on. Some early brooches had v-shaped clasps without the 'Lea Stein' inscription. However, other collectors suggest this is not true. The only way to discern vintage from modern is to have an extensive knowledge of Stein's designs.
Iffland-Ring
The origins of the ring are shrouded in some mystery and the current Iffland-Ring was most likely the most precious of a set of seven. Of those, only two rings appear to have survived: the current one and a less valuable one which was in the private possession of Wilhelm Burckhardsberg until the 1950s, but which may now be lost, too. *
Choker
Golden choker necklaces were crafted by Sumerian artisans around 2500 BC and according to curators from the Jewelry Museum of Fine Arts, chokers have been around for thousands of years, first gracing the world's earliest civilizations: Ancient Egypt, in addition to the Sumerians in Mesopotamia. Often made with gold or lapis, the necklaces were thought to be protective and imbued with special powers.
Imperial Eagle beaker
A beaker from 1571, which is currently on display at the British Museum in London, is considered the oldest exemplar. One of the five oldest beakers from 1572 is on display at the 'Württembergischen Landesmuseum' in Stuttgart. Imperial eagle beakers continued to be produced almost unaltered until the middle of the eighteenth century, at which time it seems as if production came to an end. The beakers were mainly produced in Bohemia, Saxony, Thuringia, Hesse and in the Fichtelgebirge. The significance of the imperial eagle beakers for the glassware craft in those regions can be seen by the fact that the glassmakers' guild of the Bohemian Kreibitz in 1669 demanded the production of an imperial eagle beaker as a masterpiece in one and a half days.
Violin
The violin proved very popular, both among street musicians and the nobility; the French king Charles IX ordered Andrea Amati to construct 24 violins for him in 1560. One of these "noble" instruments, the "Charles IX", is the oldest surviving violin. The finest Renaissance carved and decorated violin in the world is the Gasparo da Salò (1574) owned by Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria and later, from 1841, by the Norwegian virtuoso Ole Bull, who used it for forty years and thousands of concerts, for its very powerful and beautiful tone, similar to that of a Guarneri. "The Messiah" or ""Le Messie"" (also known as the "Salabue") made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716 remains pristine. It is now located in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford.
Crown jewels
Sweden's Crown Jewels are kept deep in the vaults of the Royal Treasury, underneath the Royal Palace in Stockholm, in a museum which is open to the public. The symbols of the Swedish monarchy have not actually been worn since 1907, but are still displayed at weddings, christenings and funerals. Until 1974 the crown jewels were also displayed at the opening of the "Riksdag" (Parliament). Among the oldest objects are the sword of Gustav Vasa and the crown, orb, sceptre and key of King Erik XIV and numerous other sovereigns.The crown jewels of England, now of the United Kingdom, are kept in the Tower of London. Apart from a 12th-century anointing spoon, they all date from after Restoration of Charles II in 1661. The ancient crown jewels of England were destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in 1649 when he established the Commonwealth of England. St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the coronation regalia, used at the moment of crowning and exchanged for the lighter Imperial State Crown, which is also worn at State Openings of Parliament. Among the precious stones on the crown are Cullinan II, the Stuart Sapphire, St Edward's Sapphire, and the Black Prince's Ruby (a spinel). On the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross is Cullinan I, the largest clear cut diamond in the world. Wives of kings are crowned as Queen Consort with a plainer set of regalia. The Crown of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother houses the 105-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond. In addition to crowns there are also various orbs, swords, coronets, rings and other pieces of regalia.
Ring of Gullion
From the Irish "Cill na Sagart" for Church of the Priests, this 2.8-metre pillar stone is held to be possibly the oldest dateable stone monument in Ireland. An inscription on the stone reads ""In loc so Taninmarni Ternoc mac Cernan Bic er cul Peter Apstel"", or that Ternoc the son of Cernan Bic put the place under the protection of Peter the Apostle. As Ternoc's death is recorded in the annals of 714 or 716, the stone can reasonably be dated to around AD700.
Aegina Treasure
The Aegina Treasure is composed largely of gold jewellery that has been dated, based on its style and iconography, to the Greek bronze age between 1850 and 1550 BC. It includes two pairs of ornate earrings, three diadems, a chest pendant, a bracelet, a gold cup, four rings, ornamented plaques and plain strips. There are also five hoops or rings and many beads and pendants made of a variety of materials including gold, lapis lazuli, amethyst, quartz, cornelian and green jasper.
Kilwinning Abbey
A conservation programme was undertaken by the local authority in 1993-95 and the tower is now owned by North Ayrshire Council. The tower houses a heritage centre which opened in 1995 and displays items of local interest, including the history of the abbey and tower; the poets Robert Burns and the "Bard of the Yukon" Robert W. Service. The Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers, dating back to 1483, are an important feature of the collection. The Kilwinning Archers still meets regularly, including the annual papingo shoot held in the grounds of the Abbey on the first Saturday in June. This event is said to be the oldest archery competition in the World and involves a wooden 'papingo' or 'popinjay', which is suspended from the clock-tower, which the archers attempt to dislodge.
Earring
Earrings became fashionable among courtiers and gentlemen in the 1590s during the English Renaissance. A document published in 1577 by clergyman William Harrison, "Description of England", states "Some lusty courtiers and gentlemen of courage do wear either rings of gold, stones or pearls in their ears." Among sailors, a pierced earlobe was a symbol that the wearer had sailed around the world or had crossed the equator.
Bremen Cathedral
When the southern tower collapsed in 1638, it contained eight bells. Today both western towers together house the cathedral's four bells. The northern tower has three bells. The oldest surviving bell is the "Maria Gloriosa" cast in 1433 by the famous bell maker Ghert Klinghe. The other bells were removed and melted down for the war effort in World War II. In 1951 two bells, "Hansa" and "Felicitas", were donated to the cathedral by former residents living abroad. In 1962, a prominent Bremen family donated a fourth bell, the "Brema," which hangs in the southern tower. The Brema weighs 7000 kg.
Shell jewelry
In recent times, inexpensive shell jewelry is often found at tropical beach destinations, where it is offered to tourists as informal wear, or as a souvenir. However, shell jewelry has a very ancient past, and is of great importance in archeology and anthropology. In fact, shell beads are the oldest form of jewelry known, dating back over 100,000 years.
Blowing horn
The oldest ones were wood and animal horns (usually ovids and bovids). The earliest findings in Europe are Bronze Age metal horns, the strength of which resulted in its better endurance of the rigours of time. As a result, previous traces of other materials have vanished, so the oldest surviving animal horn dates back to the Late Iron Age in Visnum, Sweden. As big horned animals are rarely found in Scandinavia, blowing horns are often made from wood, wound birch bark or bout, called a "lur".
Tattoo
Preserved tattoos on ancient mummified human remains reveal that tattooing has been practiced throughout the world for many centuries. In 2015, scientific re-assessment of the age of the two oldest known tattooed mummies identified Ötzi as the oldest currently known example. This body, with 61 tattoos, was found embedded in glacial ice in the Alps, and was dated to 3250 BCE. In 2018, the oldest figurative tattoos in the world were discovered on two mummies from Egypt which are dated between 3351 and 3017 BCE.
Jewel bearing
Jewel bearings were invented in 1704 for use in watches by Nicolas Fatio de Duillier, Peter Debaufre, and Jacob Debaufre, who received an English patent for the idea. Originally natural jewels were used, such as diamond, sapphire, ruby, and garnet. In 1902, a process to make synthetic sapphire and ruby (crystalline aluminium oxide, also known as corundum) was invented by Auguste Verneuil, making jewelled bearings much cheaper. Today most jewelled bearings are synthetic ruby or sapphire.
Maastricht silver
The oldest known piece stamped with the Maastricht hallmark is the so-called "arm of Saint Thomas", a 15th-century silver reliquary in the shape of an arm, now in the Treasury of the Basilica of Saint Servatius in Maastricht. Unfortunately, very little is left from this period. After the Siege of Maastricht (1579) the Spanish troops ransacked the city for three days and took anything made of gold or silver. Some silver chalices and monstrances from the 17th century have survived. With the arrival of the French revolutionary troops in 1794, the medieval trade system was discarded of and the guild of Saint Eligius dissolved.
Bonshō
The oldest known "bonshō" (indeed, the oldest bell in the world still in use) is the Okikicho bell at Myōshin-ji, which was cast in 698. The largest is the bell at Chion-in, which was commissioned in 1633 and weighs 74 tons. It requires a twenty-five man team to sound it.
Lyres of Ur
The Lyres of Ur or Harps of Ur are considered to be the world's oldest surviving stringed instruments. In 1929, archaeologists led by Leonard Woolley discovered the instruments when excavating the Royal Cemetery of Ur between from 1922 and 1934. They discovered pieces of three lyres and one harp in Ur, located in what was Ancient Mesopotamia and is contemporary Iraq. They are over 4,500 years old, from ancient Mesopotamia during the Early Dynastic III Period (2550–2450 BC). The decorations on the lyres are fine examples of the court art of Mesopotamia of the period.
Diana Primrose
The use of the metaphor of a pearl chain sets the tone for the eulogy and illustrates from the beginning the symbolic nature of the peace. The pearl is the oldest known gem, found in the sarcophagus of a Princess of Persia who died in 520 BC (Anonymous, Pearls in Human History). Since its discovery the pearl has been a symbol of purity and perfection and has been recognised as the gem of royalty due to each pearl's unique design no pearl being exactly the same; its formation also signifies strength of character (Anonymous, The Rich History of Pearls). Images of Elizabeth show that the pearl adorned many of her garments, found in the intricate embroidery of her gowns and worn in long ropes around her neck, even attached to pins worn in her hair, and it is assumed that it was her favourite gem in addition to being a symbol of her purity and virginity, they effectively became her robes of state. The entire piece is constructed as though it were a chain of pearls, each separate poem another pearl on the chain that reflects Elizabeth's own beauty of character as both a woman and a ruler, devoid of gender; the pearls representing qualities such as “Chastity”, “Religion”, “Prudence”, and “Temperance” (Spenser). Primrose however also uses other qualities not attributed to Elizabeth such as “Patience” opening the possibility of criticisms of either Elizabeth's predecessors or more likely her successor James VI (Primrose, A Chaine of Pearle).
Mellerio dits Meller
Mellerio dits Meller is a French jewellery house, founded in 1613, and still active today. It claims to be the oldest family company in Europe. It gives its name to the Mellerio cut, a 57-facet jewel cut, shaped as an oval within an ellipse. Today Mellerio is based in rue de la Paix, Paris, with branches in Luxembourg and Japan. It is a member of the Comité Colbert and also of Les Hénokiens, an international club made up of family companies over 200 years old. Directors François and Olivier Mellerio are the fourteenth generation to run the family business.
Crown jewels
The oldest Czech surviving crown of Ottokar II was made in 1296 probably in Břevnov Monastery.
History of archery
The oldest Neolithic bow known from Europe was found in anaerobic layers dating between 7,400-7,200 BP, the earliest layer of settlement at the lake settlement at La Draga, Banyoles, Girona, Spain. The intact specimen is short at 1.08m, has a D-shaped cross-section, and is made of yew wood. Stone wrist-guards, interpreted as display versions of bracers, form a defining part of the Beaker culture and arrowheads are also commonly found in Beaker graves. European Neolithic fortifications, arrow-heads, injuries, and representations indicate that, in Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Europe, archery was a major form of interpersonal violence. For example, the Neolithic settlement at Carn Brea was occupied between around 3700 and 3400 BC; excavations found that every timber structure on the site had been burnt, and there was a concentration of arrow heads around a probable entrance to the enclosure; these arrows may have been used by a large group of archers in an organized assault.
Chariot-borne archers became a defining feature of Middle Bronze Age warfare, from Europe to Eastern Asia and India. However, in the Middle Bronze Age, with the development of massed infantry tactics, and with the use of chariots for shock tactics or as prestigious command vehicles, archery seems to have lessened in importance in European warfare. In approximately the same period, with the Seima-Turbino Phenomenon and the spread of the Andronovo culture, mounted archery became a defining feature of Eurasian nomad cultures and a foundation of their military success, until the massed use of guns. In China, crossbows were developed, and Han Dynasty writers attributed Chinese success in battles against nomad invaders to the massed use of crossbows, first definitely attested at the Battle of Ma-Ling in 341 BCE.
Pendant
Pendants are among the oldest recorded types of bodily adornment. Stone, shell, pottery, and more perishable materials were used. Ancient Egyptians commonly wore pendants, some shaped like hieroglyphs.
Golden Earring
Golden Earring is a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as the Golden Earrings (the definite article was dropped in 1967, while the "s" was dropped in 1969). They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on the Dutch charts, reached the top ten in the United Kingdom and went to number thirteen on the United States charts, "Twilight Zone" in 1982, and "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984. During their career they have had nearly 30 top-ten singles on the Dutch charts while releasing 25 studio albums.
St John and All Saints' Church, Easingwold
Inside the church the arcades are supported by octagonal piers. The church contains a monument dated 1713 with Ionic pilasters, a broken pediment and a hatchment. The two-manual organ was made in 1903 by Abbott and Smith of Leeds, and was restored in 1990 by Principal Pipe Organs. There is a ring of eight bells. The oldest and heaviest five bells date from 1788 and were cast by Robert Dalton, one bell dates from 1887 and is by John Warner & Sons, and the latest and lightest two bells were cast in 1950 by Gillett & Johnston.Citations
Canterbury-St Martin's hoard
The hoard is the only late-6th- or early-7th-century find of gold jewellery in a grave in a churchyard. All of the coins in the hoard were probably part of a necklace that was buried in a woman's grave. One of the items in the hoard, the Liudhard medalet, is the earliest surviving Anglo-Saxon coin.
Armill
The oldest surviving in the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, where they are usually called armills, are those of King Charles II, and the newest were created for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The Elizabeth II Armills were presented to the Queen by the governments of various Commonwealth nations and are single-piece round bracelets made of 22 carat gold lined with crimson velvet, with a concealed hinge and spring catch. However most British monarchs have not worn armills when crowned.
Zirconian
The first 196 million years after the formation of Earth, left no solid trace, except for the formation of the Moon. This time is termed the Chaotian Era. The first datable solid Earth minerals, zircons, mark the start of the Zirconian Era. The oldest known crystal could be dated to 4,404 ± 8 Mya. It was in metasedimentary rock on Erawandoo Hills in the Jack Hills of Narryer Gneiss Terrane in Western Australia. The 4.4 Gya is the limiting age, and zircons this old are very rare. But from 4.2 to 4.1 Gya they are already common. The bulk of the zircons in Narryer Gneiss Terrane date much later, from 3.75 to 3.5 Gya.
Oldest hominids
Golden and Glitter (born 1998, wild living at Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania) are the oldest known chimpanzee twins, at 20 years (as of 2018).