Some extremely rare artifacts found at the Thrifty Boutique thrift store in Chilliwack are now in the hands of Simon Fraser University researchers.
The 11 rings and two medallions, possibly from medieval times, were on sale for $30 at the local thrift store run by the Chilliwack Hospice Society.
A customer with an archaeology background was the one who spotted the potential significance of the items, and mentioned it to store volunteers who then approached SFU experts for an assessment.
“It's a privilege for Chilliwack Hospice Society to contribute to the continuing story of these artifacts,” said Sue Knott, executive director of the Chilliwack Hospice Society in the release. “This story is a beautiful reminder of how every donation carries meaningful history and unknown potential.”
They could be thousands of years old, according to the Sept. 24 release from SFU.
SFU’s Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology will care for the donated collection which will form part of a new archaeology course trying to source the origin of such artifacts.
“This is an incredibly exciting donation and an amazing opportunity for students here at SFU,” said Sabrina Higgins, associate professor in Global Humanities and Archaeology.
The researchers will attempt to piece together the origins with the "cutting-edge" technologies, answering pivotal questions like were the items medieval or Roman?
Higgins was the first SFU expert to take a look as she specializes in Rome and late antique archaeology, and she believes the artifacts most likely date back to the medieval period.
“The shapes, designs and construction make me think that these are medieval, as the Romans typically used slightly different materials and techniques.”
The artifacts are being cared for at the museum on the Burnaby campus and the team is looking forward to one day being able to tell a more fulsome story of the mysterious items.
Museum director Barbara Hilden said: “The fact that these items continue to exist is quite extraordinary.
"If they are hundreds or thousands of years old, then at any point along the way they could have been lost, broken or discarded. Yet they’ve been kept, preserved, and now they’re entering a new chapter."
SFU’s museum typically requires provenance or the proper documentation, as the pieces could have been looted.
Without knowing where these artifacts came from, who owned them or how they acquired them, museum staff and SFU experts had ethical considerations.
In fact, Cara Tremain, assistant professor in the Department of Archaeology, says the ethics will be central to the new archaeology course that will begin in fall 2026.
“What if they were looted from their original archaeological site? Looting leads to the loss of cultural and scientific knowledge."
The SFU course will culminate in an exhibition at the museum, which will focus on the history and biography of the artifacts, as well as the ethical considerations that archaeologists and museums face.
