All You Ever Wanted To Know About Earrings But Were Afraid to Ask
It is thought that earrings date back to 3000 BC where they originated in Asia and appeared in 2 formats, one being the simple hoop earring and the other the more elaborate pendant earring.
The oldest earrings ever found by archaeologists were discovered in royal graves in Iraq and date back to around 2500 BC. Gold, silver and bronze hoop earrings have also been found dating back to 2000 BC in Crete. In those days it was customary to bury jewellery with the dead.
In 16th century in the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt a type of earring called an earplug became fashionable and these fitted snugly into a wide stretched hole in the earlobe. This type of piercing is seen on the sculpture of Tutankhamen.
Poverty in the Dark ages meant that work with precious metals dwindled although some goldsmiths preserved designs that were to later emerge in 7th century Greece. The most popular earrings then there were the pendant type and they often featured a bird or likenesses of the gods Eros and Nike.
In the 2nd century during the Roman Empire, earrings became a popular way for rich women to show...