Elizabethan Hi-Tech!

In Britain, scientists studying a 400-year-old hoard of jewelry have found that Elizabethan craftsmen developed advanced manufacturing technology that could match that of the 21st century. A team from Birmingham City University analyzed the craftwork of the famous “Cheapside Hoard,” the world's largest collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewelry, discovered in a London cellar in 1912. Among the historic find is a watch that dates back to the 1600s and is so technologically advanced it has been described as the "iPod of its day."

Dr. Ann-Marie Carey, of BCU, and her colleagues used modern technology to discover how these beautiful items were created - and are stunned at the advanced technology used. With technologist Keith Adcock, they used 21st century digital technology to recreate pieces from the Hoard, including a 'Pearl Dropper' an egg-shaped item that originally featured ribbons of pearls.

"Our forensic analysis revealed the amazing technologies which craftsman of this period used, and we fear some of these 400-year-old processes may now be lost to us," she said. "It is has been a fascinating investigation. We think of our own time as one of impressive technological advances, but we must look at the Elizabethan and Jacobean age as being just as advanced in some ways." – From the Staff Writers of News Limited Network, news.com.au --------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Dee must have known the secret! Stay tuned..... ~Lianne