#sutton hoo

[fmstonecarving]

I carved this a while back for the Ad Gefrin Anglo-Saxon museum. With highly stylised Anglo-Saxon imagery this large stone carving is actually the answer to a riddle, I'm yet to find out what the riddle is however.

[medievalistsnet]

Medieval Mystery Solved: Sutton Hoo Bucket Was a Cremation Vessel

Archaeologists have uncovered the intact base of a 6th-century Byzantine bucket at Sutton Hoo—revealing it was used as a cremation vessel in an early Anglo-Saxon burial, complete with human remains and grave goods.

Click here to read

[ltwilliammowett]

A replica of the 7th-century Sutton Hoo ship which was discovered in 1939 at an Anglo-Saxon burial site, Sutton Hoo, Suffolk

[fanfanlemoko]

[cockadoodlebumtits]

OK so I originally saw this on a Time Team (they're back!) video but today I was able to get (bad) photos for myself (the video was a Patreon exclusive so I didn't want to nick a screenshot and link back to it) so you're getting this post now.

So the Sutton Hoo site has been the source of many, many treasures. It's the British equivalent of Tutankhamen's tomb. The ship burial gave us some incredible treasures that shed new light on the Anglo-Saxons, including this helmet which is the most recognisable icon of Sutton Hoo (this is a replica but you can see the original at the British Museum - donated, not appropriated).

But my favourite thing in the museum - even over the Bromeswell bucket, which was ploughed up at some point but the bottom was recently found (again, thank you Time Team) and is from the Byzantine region if I remember rightly, but I digress - my favourite thing is this coin. I can't remember offhand if it was found in the ship burial or in the extensive cemetery for non-kings discovered under the site of the current visitor centre. But it's not Anglo-Saxon. Here it is:

So this is a coin from the reign of the Roman Emperor Honorius, who's quite an interesting figure in himself. He's the one who brought Roman rule in Britain to an official end, as the native Britons* had appealed for help to repel the Celts and the Picts (of Wales and Scotland) who, after the Romans had pulled back all their soldiers to deal with wider Empire problems, spotted that England was Free Real Estate and started helping themselves. Honorius, presumably more worried about problems closer to home and having already thought he was done with Britain, sent a letter back stating that the Britons* should look to their own defence. Roman rule was officially over (which left the Britons in a tight spot as, per my tour guide, they hadn't been allowed to own weapons under the Romans - but that's another story).

*Mostly in England, I think, and not really a cohesive group - more like a loose collection of tribes and communities that had been reduced to more or less Do What The Romans Say Or Else over the years

Anyway, because of this being a coin of Honorius, we can pretty conclusively date it to the late 4th-early 5th century. There's some wear on the coin, suggesting it didn't go into the ground fresh from the mint. There's also some (but less) wear on the frame around it, which is believed to be a later addition to allow it to be strung as a pendant**. And the archaeological context in which it was found backs that chronology up, because as I stated a million years ago near the start of the post, it was found in an Anglo-Saxon grave. That's from around the 7th century. Which means someone in the 600s AD (ish) was cremated with it (which might explain the molten-looking protrusion on the edge) or it was added to their grave when their ashes were buried. An Anglo-Saxon was wearing a centuries-old coin as jewellery, and it was obviously important enough to them to be a grave good.

**Obligatory reminder that we're interpreting the archaeology here, and it could have been sewn onto clothing or a saddle or hung from something as a tiny decoration - but it looks like a pendant, doesn't it? Sometimes that's the best you can do.

Why is this my absolute favourite, though? Well. When I was a kid in the 90s, I went to a hell of a lot of museums and castles. And what would you find in the gift shops?

[Image source]

And you bet I wore them. Centuries apart, people have always been people.

[lord-aldhelm]

Aldhelm Moodboard - Black & Gold

This is mainly an aesthetic moodboard but the images were chosen for their symbolism too. · The wolf is Aldhelm's sigil and represents strength, courage, and loyalty · The kintsugi (black pottery with gold lines) is a metaphor for something (or someone) being broken and healing to become something more beautiful than they were before (a representation of his journey as a character) · The Black-Eyed Susans (flowers) symbolize encouragement and strength · The interlace gold work in the center is a closeup of the details on the Sutton Hoo belt buckle, a 7th century Anglo-Saxon creation · The sunset forest scene fits the color theme but also I associate him with nature and wild places

[ochipi]

Top ten movie game!

I was tagged by @meilas , thank you!!

Add gifs of your ten favourite movies without naming them:

I’m tagging

@suyinc @ameliapondthehistoryqueen @audkitty

@rhyslahey @missjenniferrose

@nature-played-a-trick-on-me @topsy-turvy-tip-top-hat @anon-e-has-a-tmblr

@ladyoftheteaandblood

[marmota-b]

File:Anglo-Saxon Shoulder Clasp from Sutton Hoo Burial, 625-630 AD.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

One of my favourite things about learning about history must be realising which events and periods in different places coincided, and how one can actually shed light on the other.

The most striking example for me was learning that the Sutton Hoo finds include Czech garnets, and realising that they coincide exactly with Samo's Empire over here in Czechia (an aspirational title, that), a shadowy period with few sources. And suddenly I go "Waitaminute... he was a merchant, right? Organising the Slavs for defence against attacks from neighbouring nations? Hmmm... I wonder what resources they all might have been after? 🤔" 😁