Description
In this issue:
– EXPLORING ANGLO-SAXON SETTLEMENT: In search of the origins of the English village
– CYCLE OF LIFE: Decoding the symbolism of quern stones
– VINOVIA: A buried Roman city in the county of Durham?
– SUTTON HOO AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM: Marking the 75th anniversary of a watershed discovery
Plus: News, Reviews, Comment, Sherds, Odd Socs, and more!
From the Editor:
What are the origins of the classic English village? Once believed to be an Anglo-Saxon or Viking import, the appearance of this quintessential countryside feature is increasingly looking like a post-Norman Conquest imposition. So what did the Anglo-Saxon equivalent look like? Tapping into the wealth of information flowing from developer-funded archaeology, John Blair has been investigating. In a major feature, he reveals how these unsung settlements projected the intricate ordering of space gracing the finest Anglo-Saxon jewellery across an entire landscape.
The quern stone is another staple of daily life whose wider significance may have been overlooked. Despite being crafted from the hardiest stone around, many of these ended their days lying broken in pits. Accidental damage on this scale would need violent carelessness, hinting instead that querns were deliberately broken because their role in providing daily bread imbued them with symbolic potency.
The Roman love of bathing has also left an enduring mark on the archaeological record. But, despite bath-houses being robustly engineered in durable materials, few in Britain are as impressive as that recently discovered at Binchester, which still stands to window height. We catch up on the latest finds from this fascinating fort.
Finally, the 1939 excavation of Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo is hardly breaking news, but the famous ship-burial found within remains one of the most celebrated archaeological discoveries ever. As the BritishMuseum revamps the gallery displaying the Sutton Hoo finds, we examine what has been learnt since those trailblazing days 75 years ago.
Cover Date: Jun-2014, Volume 25 Issue 3