Early Anglo-Saxon Shields

Early Anglo-Saxon Shields
Author: Tania Marguerite Dickinson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 112
Release: 1992
Genre: Art
ISBN:

Nearly one-quarter of the males in early Anglo-Saxon cemeteries were buried with a shield, yet shields have not received as much scholarly attention as the less common sword. In this volume Dickinson and Harke combine their individual researches to provide a full discussion of the early Anglo-Saxon shield. It includes a typological framework and addresses the issues of dating and distribution, technology and function, and the place of the shield in Anglo-Saxon burial ritual.

An Archaeology of the Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms

An Archaeology of the Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms
Author: C. J. Arnold
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2005-08-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134730985

An Archaeology of the Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms is a volume which offers an unparalleled view of the archaeological remains of the period. Using the development of the kingdoms as a framework, this study closely examines the wealth of material evidence and analyzes its significance to our understanding of the society that created it. From our understanding of the migrations of the Germanic peoples into the British Isles, the subsequent patterns of settlement, land-use, trade, through to social hierarchy and cultural identity within the kingdoms, this fully revised edition illuminates one of the most obscure and misunderstood periods in European history.

Anglo-Saxon Graves and Grave Goods of the 6th and 7th Centuries AD

Anglo-Saxon Graves and Grave Goods of the 6th and 7th Centuries AD
Author: Alex Bayliss
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 616
Release: 2017-07-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1351576461

The Early Anglo-Saxon Period is characterized archaeologically by the regular deposition of artefacts in human graves in England. The scope for dating these objects and graves has long been studied, but it has typically proved easier to identify and enumerate the chronological problems of the material than to solve them. Prior to the work of the project reported on here, therefore, there was no comprehensive chronological framework for Early Anglo-Saxon Archaeology, and the level of detail and precision in dates that could be suggested was low. The evidence has now been studied afresh using a co-ordinated suite of dating techniques, both traditional and new: a review and revision of artefact-typology; seriation of grave-assemblages using correspondence analysis; high-precision radiocarbon dating of selected bone samples; and Bayesian modelling using the results of all of these. These were focussed primarily on the later part of the Early Anglo-Saxon Period, starting in the 6th century. This research has produced a new chronological framework, consisting of sequences of phases that are separate for male and female burials but nevertheless mutually consistent and coordinated. These will allow archaeologists to assign grave-assemblages and a wide range of individual artefact-types to defined phases that are associated with calendrical date-ranges whose limits are expressed to a specific degree of probability. Important unresolved issues include a precise adjustment for dietary effects on radiocarbon dates from human skeletal material. Nonetheless the results of this project suggest the cessation of regular burial with grave goods in Anglo-Saxon England two decades or even more before the end of the seventh century. That creates a limited but important discrepancy with the current numismatic chronology of early English sceattas. The wider implications of the results for key topics in Anglo-Saxon archaeology and social, economic and religious history are discussed to conclude the report.

Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History 14

Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History 14
Author: Sarah Semple
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Total Pages: 626
Release: 2007-10-10
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 178297508X

Volume 14 of the Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History series is dedicated to the archaeology of early medieval death, burial and commemoration. Incorporating studies focusing upon Anglo-Saxon England as well as research encompassing western Britain, Continental Europe and Scandinavia, this volume originated as the proceedings of a two-day conference held at the University of Exeter in February 2004. It comprises of an Introduction that outlines the key debates and new approaches in early medieval mortuary archaeology followed by eighteen innovative research papers offering new interpretations of the material culture, monuments and landscape context of early medieval mortuary practices. Papers contribute to a variety of ongoing debates including the study of ethnicity, religion, ideology and social memory from burial evidence. The volume also contains two cemetery reports of early Anglo-Saxon cemeteries from Cambridgeshire.

Bronze Age Barrow and Anglo-Saxon Cemetery: Archaeological Excavations on Land Adjacent to Upthorpe Road, Stanton Suffolk

Bronze Age Barrow and Anglo-Saxon Cemetery: Archaeological Excavations on Land Adjacent to Upthorpe Road, Stanton Suffolk
Author: Chris Chinnock
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2023-03-09
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1803273194

Archaeological investigations by MOLA on land adjacent to Upthorpe Road, Stanton (2013-2014), revealed the remains of a prehistoric round barrow and a cemetery containing the remains of 67 inhumations with associated grave goods. This book provides detailed analysis of the archaeological features, skeletal assemblage and other artefacts.

Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History 15

Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History 15
Author: Sally Crawford
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Total Pages: 519
Release: 2008-10-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782975292

Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History is an annual series concerned with the archaeology and history of England and its neighbours during the Anglo-Saxon period. ASSAH offers researchers an opportunity to publish new work in an interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary forum which allows for a diversity of approaches and subject matter. Contributions focus not just on Anglo-Saxon England but also its international context.

The Iconography of Early Anglo-Saxon Coinage

The Iconography of Early Anglo-Saxon Coinage
Author: Anna Gannon
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2003-04-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 0191501336

This is the first scholarly art-historical appraisal of Anglo-Saxon coinage, from its inception in the late sixth century to Offa's second reform of the penny c.792. Outside numismatic circles, this material has largely been ignored because of its complexity, yet artistically this is the most vibrant period of English coinage, with die-cutters showing flair and innovation and employing hundreds of different designs in their work. By analysing the iconography of the early coinage, this book intends to introduce its rich legacy to a wide audience. Anna Gannon divides the designs of the coins into four main categories: busts (including attributes and drapery), human figures, animals and geometrical patterns, presenting prototypes, sources of the repertoire and parallels with contemporary visual arts for each motif. The comparisons demonstrate the central role of coins in the eclectic visual culture of the time, with the advantages of official sanctioning and wide circulation to support and diffuse new ideas and images. The sources of the motifs clarify the relationship between the many designs of the complex Secondary phase (c.710-50). Contemporary literature and theological writings often offer the key to the interpretation of motifs, hinting at a universal preoccupation with religious themes. The richness of designs and display of learning point to a sophisticated patronage with access to exotic prototypes, excellent craftsmanship and wealth; it is likely that minsters, as rich, learned, and well-organized institutions, were behind some of the coinage. After the economic crises of the mid-eighth century this flamboyant iconography was swept away: with the notable exeption of the coins of Offa, still displaying exciting designs of high quality and inventiveness, reformed issues bore royal names and titles, and strove towards uniformity.

The Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of Southern Britain AD 450-650

The Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of Southern Britain AD 450-650
Author: Sue Harrington
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2014-07-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782976124

The Tribal Hidage, attributed to the 7th century, records the named groups and polities of early Anglo-Saxon England and the taxation tribute due from their lands and surpluses. Whilst providing some indication of relative wealth and its distribution, rather little can be deduced from the Hidage concerning the underlying economic and social realities of the communities documented. Sue Harrington and the late Martin Welch have adopted a new approach to these issues, based on archaeological information from 12,000 burials and 28,000 objects of the period AD 450_650. The nature, distribution and spatial relationships of settlement and burial evidence are examined over time against a background of the productive capabilities of the environment in which they are set, the availability of raw materials, evidence for metalworking and other industrial/craft activities, and communication and trade routes. This has enabled the identification of central areas of wealth that influenced places around them. Key within this period was the influence of the Franks who may have driven economic exploitation by building on the pre-existing Roman infrastructure of the south-east. Frankish material culture was as widespread as that of the Kentish people, whose wealth is evident in many well-furnished graves, but more nuanced approaches to wealth distribution are apparent further to the West, perhaps due to ongoing interaction with communities who maintained an essentially ïRomano-BritishÍ way of life.