Museum news
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
Early Medieval
Sutton Hoo bucket revealed as cremation urn
Following the discovery of more pieces of the Bromeswell Bucket at Sutton Hoo last year (see CA 414), the fragments have now been micro-excavated, revealing its intact base along with the cremated remains of both human and animal bones. The…
Finds Tray – Silver cross pendant
This is a gilded silver cross pendant or pectoral cross, dating to the early medieval period – most likely the 8th century. It was discovered in August 2021 by a metal-detectorist in a field near Leeds, and was recently acquired…
Words on the wave: Tracing Continental connections in early medieval Ireland
A major new exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland explores how people travelled between early medieval Ireland and continental Europe 1,000 years ago, seeking learning, refuge from Viking raids, and religious fulfilment through self-imposed exile. Diarmuid Ó Riain, Matthew Seaver, and Maeve Sikora describe how this exchange of ideas and artistic styles is reflected in the artefacts and manuscripts on display.
Finds Tray – Disc brooch
This is a cloissonné disc brooch dating from the late Anglo-Saxon period (c.AD 970-1100) and was recently found by a metal-detectorist on farmland near Winscombe and Sandford in North Somerset. While similar brooches have been found in other parts of…
Current Archaeology 422
• Warhorse: exploring the archaeology of a medieval icon
• Can archaeology save the world? Small wins and wicked problems
• The basilica in the basement: rediscovering the heart of Roman London
• Examining Quaker meeting houses: building a picture through architecture
• Milestone discoveries: record years for the Portable Antiquities Scheme and Treasure finds
Offa’s Dyke: Excavating the CA archive
My column this month is on one of the least-known ‘great sites’ of all: Offa’s Dyke, the linear earthwork that stretches along the Welsh/English border. Most people know Hadrian’s Wall, and a fair few the Antonine Wall, but how many of us can say that we are familiar with Offa’s Dyke, either the standing sections of it that survive or the National Trail of that name that runs from Sedbury in the south to Prestatyn in the north?
Finds Tray – Early medieval zoomorphic mount
This recent addition to the Portable Antiquities Scheme’s database, originally found by metal-detectorists in Winchester in the mid-1990s and since donated to the Hampshire Cultural Trust, is a particularly eye-catching example of an early medieval zoomorphic mount. It dates to…
‘Britain’s largest Viking Age hall’ discovered in Cumbria
Structural remains believed to represent the largest Viking Age hall yet found in Britain have been uncovered at High Tarns farm in Silloth, Cumbria. The site lies close to Holme Cultram Abbey, a Cistercian monastery founded in 1150, and cropmarks…
The Viking Sorceress
A major exhibition at the National Museum of Denmark is exploring the mysterious Viking Age Völva.
Site of King Harold’s lost palace identified by archaeologists
Archaeologists have confirmed ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’ the site of the long-lost home of Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England – thanks in part to a medieval toilet. Harold ruled as the English monarch for only nine months…
Tintagel: Excavating the CA archive
Tintagel in Cornwall can be considered a ‘great site’ for a number of reasons, depending on personal perspective. For some, the draw is its rich archaeology; for others, its links to King Arthur, or its dramatic coastal settings.
From Bayeux to Bosham: Tracing ‘lordly sites’ in medieval England
Recently published archaeological research has shed vivid light on the power centres of the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy that were swept away by the Norman Conquest – including a site associated with Harold Godwinson. Carly Hilts spoke to Duncan Wright and Oliver Creighton to learn more.
Galloway Hoard runic inscription translated
Over a decade after its discovery, the Viking Age Galloway Hoard continues to give up its secrets, following the translation of a runic inscription on one of its arm-rings, offering new insights into the assemblage’s early medieval ownership. Buried c.AD…
Branching out: New genetic analysis illuminates Iron Age and early medieval migrations
A new, more precise way of analysing historic ancestries has revealed previously unknown waves of human movement during the 1st millennium AD. Carly Hilts and Rebecca Preedy report.
Murder in Anglo-Saxon England: Justice, wergild, revenge
REVIEW BY RP The early medieval period is often thought of as a hotbed of violence. It is perhaps, then, a surprise to learn that only around 90 reported murders exist from five centuries of Anglo-Saxon England. Annie Whitehead’s book…
Anglo-Saxon coin hoard discovered in Suffolk
A hoard of more than 300 11th-century coins, still carefully packaged within their lead and cloth container, has been uncovered in Suffolk. The discovery was made during archaeological work ahead of constructing Sizewell C nuclear power station. While investigating a…
Ornate sword recovered from Anglo-Saxon cemetery in Kent
Archaeological work centred on an early medieval cemetery near Canterbury has uncovered a number of high-status graves, one of which produced an exceptionally well-preserved 6th-century sword. The weapon is being worked on by archaeologists from the University of Central Lancashire…
Silver-gilt vessel
The vessel was… packed with precious objects and placed upside down. What is it? This lidded, silver-gilt vessel is c.150mm tall, and 92.4mm in diameter at the rim. It was discovered as part of the Viking Age Galloway Hoard, filled…
Embers of the Hands: hidden histories of the Viking Age
REVIEW BY CARLY HILTS Popular imaginings of the Viking Age are often dominated by larger-than life figures – kings, warlords, explorers, poets – with the experiences of ordinary men, women, and children fading anonymously into the background. This vibrant book…
Beneath the surface of a Viking Age cemetery
A large Viking Age burial ground has been discovered in Halland, western Sweden. Archaeologists Anders Kjellin and Petra Nordin tell us about their findings.
Museum news
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
Friends of the Roman Road and Fleam Dyke
Fleam Dyke is a linear earthwork some 5km in length, built in phases between the mid-4th and the mid-7th centuries. The path along the top leads to Mutlow Hill, where the Dyke (now 8m/26ft in height) skirts a Bronze Age…
Uncovering Oxford’s Anglo-Saxon defences
Excavations at Oxford University’s Oriel College have helped to confirm the limits of the city’s Anglo-Saxon defences. Oxford first appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in AD 911 It was a burh, a fortified settlement, and while this entry does not…
UK news in brief
Time Team at Sutton Hoo Following a successful return to Sutton Hoo this summer, Time Team have again joined forces with the National Trust and will carry out another investigation in Garden Field in 2025. Working in partnership with the…
Ash-sharq: Bulletin of the Ancient Near East
REVIEW BY CH The latest issue of Ash-sharq includes a particularly thought-provoking contribution by Dr St John Simpson, senior curator in the British Museum’s Department of the Middle East, which focuses on artefacts from Anglo-Saxon England. Among the lavish grave…
From Samarkand to Sutton Hoo: Exploring the impact of the Silk Roads on early medieval Britain and Ireland
A new exhibition running at the British Museum explores the vast network of cultural and commercial connections that spanned Europe, Africa, and Asia in AD 500-1000. Carly Hilts visited to learn how diverse ideas, materials, and people filtered along these routes to the British Isles.
Museum news
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
Finds Tray – Bird brooch
This little bird, found by a metal-detectorist in Corhampton/Meonstoke, Hampshire, was once a brooch. Dating to the 6th century, it measures just 20mm long and 10mm wide, weighing 4.06g. The brooch was cast from copper alloy, after which its surface…
Unique coin hoard acquired for the nation
A collection of over 2,500 silver pennies, hidden in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest, is to go on display at the British Museum later this month, before finding a permanent home close to where it was found.
Viking linguistic legacy
In September, Sherds attended a lecture given by Richard Dance, Professor of Early English in the Cambridge University Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, on the theme of ‘Vikings in your Vocabulary: Adventures in the History of English’, based on his Gersum Project (www.gersum.org) looking at the Scandinavian influence on our language.
Early medieval metalworking on Islay
Excavations on Islay, in the Inner Hebrides, have uncovered the archaeological remains of an early medieval metalworking workshop. Finds of flint had been emerging from the plough soil for some time, hinting at the area’s archaeological potential, but this was…
Lindisfarne bones connected with monastery chapel
Human remains discovered on Lindisfarne in 2022 have been identified as disturbed burials that were potentially associated with an early medieval chapel and cemetery at the island’s famous medieval monastery. The bones were initially discovered during a watching brief undertaken by AOC…
Continued exploration of Govan Old Church reveals early medieval building
Govan Old Church in Glasgow is one of the city’s most important historical landmarks, with the site’s religious story stretching back at least 1,500 years, and the church itself renowned for housing one of the most significant collections of Viking…
50 Early Medieval Finds
REVIEW BY AB Once characterised as a ‘Dark Age’, Britain’s early medieval period is dark no more. These days, impressions of the era have been transformed by headline finds like the intricate gold filigree metalwork from Sutton Hoo and the…
Norfolk’s earliest stone churches: Constructing a timeline of ancient religious buildings
Peter Wade-Martins has visited all 649 of Norfolk’s surviving medieval churches to study the stone types used in their construction. As a result, he has identified the use of conglomerate – along with grey quartzite, millstone grit, and tile, much of it reused from ruinous Roman buildings – as important indicators of the churches constructed in the 11th and 12th centuries, before the ready availability of limestone. Chris Catling reports.