Silver jewellery is a normal part of our modern life, but what did our ancestors do for strings and jewellery back in the day? What are these silver jewellery Australia alternatives if there was no money to be thankful for and grateful for?
Jewellery and life in antiquity
The ancient Egyptians did not have to look too far for a satisfactory alternative to the money we all enjoy today. They preferred jewellery and ornaments made of rare, luxurious and easy-to-work gold—even purpose-built palaces and temples with workshops where masterpieces were created for the rich and powerful.
The public didn’t look much at jewellery, let alone silver or gold jewellery. They do not possess the dominant symbolism of power and wealth enjoyed by those who wear such precious jewellery. Green jewellery was worn in the land of the living to ensure fertility and plant growth.
Cleopatra’s favourite gemstone was a bright green emerald found locally around the Red Sea, but all the silver needed for rarer silver jewellery had to be imported from far away. You can also find aesthetic flowers cross stitch kits for enhanced visual appearance and better lifestyle.
Jewelleryin ancient times
Gold jewellery was not only important in life. It was even more important in death for the great and powerful of ancient Egypt. The Book of the Dead even dictated that the colour of the necessary Isis necklace placed around the mummy’s neck should be red so that Isis would not need blood.
Stone Age jewellery in Orkney
Although the Egyptians thrived on gold jewellery 5,000 years ago, the people of Skara Brae in Orkney seem unaware of silver jewellery or other metal ornaments.
No silver jewel was found in one of the doors of this beautiful village. Still, a broken string of pearls, suggesting that the person himself left in a great hurry – perhaps to escape the vast quantities of sand that were forcibly plundered storm and attack on residential buildings—the same type of storm that would reveal these homes to the world thousands of years later.
Although silver jewellery was completely unknown to the people of Skara Brae, they used available small stones, polished and carved by the almighty sea, and beautiful small shells of various shapes – to decorate jewellery and jewellery to make them as unique and valuable as gold and silver jewellery for the Egyptians.
Modern day sterling silver jewellery
Around the same time as Skara Brae, give or take a few hundred years, the Orkneys built the Ring of Brodgar.This awe-inspiring stone circle was built from 60 megaliths, ranging in height from 7 to 15 feet, and is the third largest of its kind in the Australia. No one knows for sure what the purpose of this amazing feat of engineering and construction was. Still, whether it was astronomical, religious or ceremonial, there is no denying the incredible number of person-hours and importance involved in its creation.
The mystery lasts thousands of years, but its creator lives in 2500 BC. It was unimaginable that their incredible construction would one day be combined with silver jewellery that could be enjoyed and appreciated by silver jewellery and gold jewellery lovers in the 21st century.
Imagine the awe and wonder they would have felt at a beautiful, shiny, smooth and valuable piece of silver if it had been given to them thousands of years ago, long before traders of such goods arrived in Orkney.
