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This beaver tooth pendant was excavated from an Anglo Saxon adolescent's grave in Watchfield, Oxfordshire. It is held in place by a gold band with decorative horizontal lines. The gold setting implies that the tooth was highly valued by its owner. It is thought that this object was a charm or good luck symbol. Beavers were hunted to extinction in Britain by the twelfth century. Four years ago, European beavers were reintroduced to Britain and last year, 2009, the first beavers were born in Britain for 500 years. All over the world, animals are becoming extinct- very often due to Man's activity. It is interesting to think of beavers as a common sight in Britain. The tooth is from the Oxfordshire County Museum's Service Collection

OXCMS : 1979.94.41