20Th January 2021 History Can I Make Conclusions from Anglo-Saxon

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

20Th January 2021 History Can I Make Conclusions from Anglo-Saxon 20th January 2021 History Can I make conclusions from Anglo-Saxon artefacts? Today you will be trying to solve a mystery from over 1000 years ago. You will need to use your skills to work out the mystery. The Mystery of Sutton Hoo By about 600, England was divided into small Anglo-Saxon kingdoms each ruled by a king. Sutton Hoo Figure 1 Map of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms On a small hill above the river Deben, at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk is a field, covered with grassy mounds of different sizes. For several hundred years what lay under the mounds remained a mystery. Figure 2 Mounds at Sutton Hoo What could be under them? Watch the video on archaeology. Start the video from 0:15 seconds to ignore the school trip section of the video. Archaeology video In 1939 an archaeologist named Basil Brown explored the largest mound and discovered a ship buried in the mound. The mounds are Anglo Saxon graves. Anglo-Saxons were often buried with their possessions so the contents show the technology and traditions of a culture that was in England 1,600 years ago. Much of what we know about the Anglo-Saxons comes from graves like the one discovered at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. An Anglo Saxon Ship Burial It was a mystery who was buried in the ship grave. It could have been: A Saxon soldier? A Saxon King? A Saxon monk? Who do you think was buried in the ship grave? To work out who was buried in the ship grave we need to look at all the items that were found there. Look at the Sutton Hoo artefacts worksheet and answer the questions about each object. What is it? How was it used? Who used it? Using the pictures, create a poster entitled ‘The Mystery at Sutton Hoo’. Show your ideas and theories about the items that were uncovered. Sketch a picture of who you think the items belong to in the middle. Click on the link and vote on who you think was buried. We will find out if you were right tomorrow. Vote on who you think was buried in the Sutton Hoo grave .
Recommended publications
  • Regalia and Weaponry in Early Anglo-Saxon Royal Graves Archaeologia John Hines
    V. THE ROLE OF WEAPONS AND WEAPONRY IN POLITICAL AND MILITARY LEADERSHIP BALTICA 8 BALTICA FIT FOR A KING? REGALIA AND WEAPONRY IN EARLY ANGLO-SAXON ROYAL GRAVES ARCHAEOLOGIA JOHN HINES Abstract The excavation of a princely grave of the early seventh century at Prittlewell, Essex, in 2003, is the starting point for a review of the development of kingship in early Anglo-Saxon England. Emphasis is placed upon the equally important contributions of history and archaeology. It is also argued that it is essential to balance the attention given to the immediate contexts in England with the long-term development of kingship amongst the Germanic peoples. Valuable supplementary evidence is found in the terminology of kingship and lordship in Germanic philology, as well as the comparative study of Continental Fürstengräber of the Roman Iron Age. Key words: Anglo-Saxon, archaeology, burial, kingship, Prittlewell, Sutton Hoo. Early-medieval kingship 1938; Genrich 1954; Wegewitz 1977). It has proved rather easy to lose sight of that situation when German- In our many efforts to understand how the organization ic kingship in the middle of the first millennium AD V of society developed amongst the Germanic-speaking is considered principally in the light of the different THE ROLE peoples over the two thousand years from the Iron Age, scope for political leadership in the context of the great OF WEAPONS before the birth of Christ, to the High Middle Ages, the war-bands, such as those of the Goths, which invaded AND WEAPONRY history of kingship remains one of the most fundamen- and conquered the more southerly parts of the Roman IN POLITICAL tal challenges for archaeological and historical scholar- Empire in Europe, and are therefore better illuminated AND MILITARY ship.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sutton Hoo Helmet
    Teaching History with 100 Objects - The Sutton Hoo helmet The Sutton Hoo helmet This helmet was found at a burial site in Suffolk along with many other valuable objects. The burial provides insights into the life of the Anglo- Saxon elite and into connections between Britain and other parts of the world. The finds at Sutton Hoo changed historians’ views about the Anglo-Saxon period, which had been regarded as a Dark Age following the end of Roman Britain. From Burial Mound 1, Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, England Date AD 600 – 650 Culture Anglo-Saxon Material Iron with bronze plates covered in tin, bronze-gilt, garnets Dimensions Height: 31.8 cm Width: 21.5 cm Circumference : 74.6 cm Estimated total original weight: 2.5 kg Museum British Museum (Please always check with the museum that the object is on display before travelling) Teaching History with 100 Objects - The Sutton Hoo helmet The Sutton Hoo helmet About the object The helmet was discovered in a large burial mound in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia. Many other objects were also found, including armour and weapons, silver dishes, musical instruments, feasting equipment such as a drinking horn and bottles, coins and fastenings for clothing. The mound, which has worn down over time, covered a ship that must have been dragged up several hundred metres from the river Deben. The presence of other mounds suggests this was a royal burial area, but the richness of this particular burial suggests it might have been that of a local ruler. Ship burials indicate a relationship with the seafaring communities of Scandinavia, where other rich burials with ships have been found.
    [Show full text]
  • Anglo-Saxons: Sutton Hoo
    Anglo-Saxons: Sutton Hoo Helmet from the ship-burial at Sutton Hoo Suffolk, England 700 AD Visit resource for teachers Key Stage 2 Anglo-Saxons: Sutton Hoo Contents Before your visit Background information Resources Gallery information Preliminary activities During your visit Gallery activities: introduction for teachers Gallery activities: briefings for adult helpers Gallery activity: Excavation Gallery activity: Anglo-Saxon crafts Gallery activity: Grave goods Gallery activity: Burying a noble Gallery activity: Sutton Hoo and Taplow burials After your visit Follow-up activities Anglo-Saxons: Sutton Hoo Before your visit Anglo-Saxons: Sutton Hoo Before your visit Background information The Sutton Hoo burial consists of a wooden long boat covered by a large mound of soil. At the centre of the ship was a wooden burial chamber hung with textiles. In it a dead person lay surrounded by possessions: weapons, armour, gold coins, gold and garnet fittings, silver vessels, silver-mounted drinking horns and clothes (linen undershirts, shoes, a woollen cloak and a fur trimmed cap). All these objects were chosen to reflect the person's high rank in life and would be considered to play a role in the person’s afterlife. No body was found, but soil analyses suggest that a body was placed in the burial chamber and totally decayed in the acid soil. The identity of the buried person is not known. Following excavation in the 1930s it was believed that the burial belonged to a member of the East Anglian ruling dynasty and four kings were considered as possible candidates: Raedwald (AD 590-625/6) king of East Anglia and overlord of the English kingdoms from AD 616, Eorpwald (died 627/8) and co-regents Sigebert and Ecric, who both died in AD 637.
    [Show full text]
  • Make Your Own Sutton Hoo Helmet - Young Archaeologists' Club
    Make your own Sutton Hoo Helmet - Young Archaeologists' Club www.yac-uk.org/activity/make-your-own-sutton-hoo-helmet Make your own Sutton Hoo Helmet In 1939 a massive, and very important, ship burial was discovered at Sutton Hoo, near Ipswich. The wooden beams of the ship had rotted away many centuries before but left a ghostly imprint in the ground. The burial was discovered to have been Anglo-Saxon royalty and contained all the things somebody so important would need in the afterlife. One of the most famous finds was the Sutton Hoo helmet, one of only four complete Anglo-Saxon helmets that we know of. The helmet was also very unusual because it has a facemask. When it was found, the helmet was in hundreds of pieces as the burial chamber had collapsed. Conservators at the Royal Armouries have reconstructed the helmet by precisely locating the remaining fragments and assembling them as if they were a 3D jigsaw puzzle! You can see the reconstruction in the British Museum. Laura Peck Adult supervision is required. Type of Activity : Crafting How many people required (minimum) : 1 Safety Measures : Please ask an adult to help you with the scissors and craft knife. Ages : 8+ Time Required: 4 hours+ for the paint to dry. Materials Required: © Copyright 2021 Young Archaeologists' Club, all rights reserved. ● Cardboard ● Sticky Tape ● Scissors ● Craft Knife ● Gold and Silver Paint Make your own Sutton Hoo Helmet - Young Archaeologists' Club www.yac-uk.org/activity/make-your-own-sutton-hoo-helmet 1. Cut a strip of cardboard about 3cm wide and tape it together to make a circle.
    [Show full text]
  • Sutton Hoo: the Body in the Mound Tanya Knight Ruffin Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected]
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2006 Sutton Hoo: the body in the mound Tanya Knight Ruffin Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Ruffin,a T nya Knight, "Sutton Hoo: the body in the mound" (2006). LSU Master's Theses. 3256. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/3256 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SUTTON HOO: THE BODY IN THE MOUND A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The School of Art by Tanya Knight Ruffin B.F.A., Louisiana State University, 1988 August, 2006 Acknowledgements I would like to gratefully acknowledge the diligent supervision of Dr. Kirstin Noreen, whose guidance and encouragement I deeply appreciate. I would like to express gratitude to Dr. Mark Zucker for his advice and inspiring lectures, from as far back as 1983. Also, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Marchita Mauck for her support and assistance. In addition, I need to recognize the support of Roger Busbice and Dr. Barbara Danos, both of whom have been friends and mentors to me throughout my life and career and the assistance of my dear friend Charlotte Cavel.
    [Show full text]
  • The Lister Rune Stones and the Heruls Troels Brandt
    The Lister rune stones The Lister rune stones and the Heruls Troels Brandt Abstract Scholarly papers conclude that the Listerland in the 6th - 7th century was ruled by a warrior society between the ordinary Scandinavian societies in Skåne and Västra Vång. This article will in an interdisciplinary way investigate the connections between the Eastern and Western Heruls arriving to the Scandinavian Peninsula around 500 AD, the four rune stones in Lister/Blekinge, the Rök Stone, the coastal landscape and the names Lister, Eorle, Wicingas and Marings. Possibly the rune stones were raised by some of the Western Heruls, the sea-warriors who disappeared from the East Frisian coast after 478 AD. They may have been the Wicingas and Eorle of Widsith and Beowulf. Maybe they assisted or joined the Eastern Heruls, who from their kingdom in Mähren settled first time in Blekinge / Värend around 512 AD - until they were expelled by the Danes. The expulsion of the terrifying Herulian mercenaries made suddenly the unknown Danes famous from Constantinople to England. They may have been the archaeologic and scaldic connection between Scandinavia and East-Anglia. 1 The Lister rune stones 1 The four rune stones in Lister and Björketorp In Blekinge four connected rune stones are found written at a stage between the old and the young Futhark. They are dated to 550-700 AD. Three are found at different places around Listerland and one is found 60 kilometres east of Listerland – but all located in the coastal region. The Istaby Stone: The stone was found in the village of Istaby close to the sandy beaches of Sandviken at the southern coast of Listerland.
    [Show full text]
  • Dyeing Sutton Hoo Nordic Blonde: an Interpretation of Swedish Influences on the East Anglian Gravesite
    DYEING SUTTON HOO NORDIC BLONDE: AN INTERPRETATION OF SWEDISH INFLUENCES ON THE EAST ANGLIAN GRAVESITE Casandra Vasu A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS August 2008 Committee: Andrew Hershberger, Advisor Charles E. Kanwischer © 2008 Casandra Vasu All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Andrew Hershberger, Advisor Nearly seventy years have passed since the series of tumuli surrounding Edith Pretty’s estate at Sutton Hoo in Eastern Suffolk, England were first excavated, and the site, particularly the magnificent ship-burial and its associated pieces located in Mound 1, remains enigmatic to archaeologists and historians. Dated to approximately the early seventh century, the Sutton Hoo entombment retains its importance by illuminating a period of English history that straddles both myth and historical documentation. The burial also exists in a multicultural context, an era when Scandinavian influences factored heavily upon society in the British Isles, predominantly in the areas of art, religion and literature. Literary works such as the Old English epic of Beowulf, a tale of a Geatish hero and his Danish and Swedish counterparts, offer insight into the cultural background of the custom of ship-burial and the various accoutrements of Norse warrior society. Beowulf may hold an even more specific affinity with Sutton Hoo, in that a character from the tale, Weohstan, is considered to be an ancestor of the man commemorated in the ship- burial in Mound 1. Weohstan, whose allegiance lay with the Geats, was nonetheless a member of the Wægmunding clan, distant relations to the Swedish Scylfing dynasty.
    [Show full text]
  • Sutton Hoo - an Archaeography
    This is a repository copy of Sutton Hoo - An Archaeography. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/102095/ Version: Published Version Book Section: Carver, Martin orcid.org/0000-0002-7981-5741 (2011) Sutton Hoo - An Archaeography. In: Schofield, John, (ed.) Great Excavations. Shaping the Archaeological Profession. Oxbow , Oxford , pp. 25-43. Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Sutton Hoo – an archaeography Martin Carver Introduction Sutton Hoo is one of the great archaeological sites of Europe and pivotal for the understanding of how early Medieval kingdom-building and Christianisation were expressed. The latest campaign of excavation there was certainly great in size – almost a hectare was opened, but the estimation of quality – which probably lies behind our convenor’s title – is something else. That needs a context. What I chose to do in this chapter was to describe not just the latest campaign, but the four that preceded it, and try to put each into the context of its day.
    [Show full text]
  • Maritime Mode of Production Raiding and Trading in Seafaring Chiefdoms
    488 Current Anthropology Volume 59, Number 5, October 2018 Maritime Mode of Production Raiding and Trading in Seafaring Chiefdoms by Johan Ling, Timothy Earle, and Kristian Kristiansen As exemplified by Viking and Bronze Age societies in northern Europe, we model the political dynamics of raiding, trading, and slaving as a maritime mode of production. It includes political strategies to control trade by owning boats and financing excursions, thus permitting chiefs to channel wealth flows and establish decentralized, expansive political networks. Such political institutions often form at the edges of world systems, where chieftains support mobile warriors who were instrumental in seizing and protecting wealth. Particular properties of the maritime mode of production as relevant to Scandinavia are the fusion of agropastoral and maritime modes of production. To exemplify these two sectors, we use the Thy and Tanum cases in which we have been involved in long-term archaeological research. The historic Viking society provides specificity to model the ancestral political society of Bronze Age Scandinavia. Our model helps understand an alternative path to institutional formation in decentralized chiefdoms with low population densities, mobile warriors, and long-distance trading and raiding in valuables, weapons, and slaves. Using the Bronze Age and Viking Age of Scandinavia, we seek social and environmental differences, some regions specialized to model decentralized complexity in low-density, chiefdom- in one or the other. The result was a regional division of labor, like societies that emerged by processes of both historical con- a process understandable by the rule of comparative advan- tinuity and independent change. Over the years, scholars (Ner- tage (Ricardo 1817 [1811]), applicable generally to the Eurasian man 1954; Tallgren 1916) have proposed analogies between Bronze Age (Earle et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Ritual in Beowulf B.A.MajorThesis Supervisor:Doc.Mgr.MiladaFranková,Csc.,M.A. 2007
    Masaryk University in Brno Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies Kateřina Olexová Ritual in Beowulf B.A.MajorThesis Supervisor: doc.Mgr.MiladaFranková,CSc.,M.A. 2007 Ideclare thatIhaveworkedonthis dissertationindependently,usingonlythesources listedinthe bibliography. 1 Iwouldlike tothankmysupervisor,doc.Mgr.MiladaFranková,CSc.,M.A.,forher kindhelp,patienceandthetimeshededicatedtomywork. 2 CONTENTS 1.INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………….……….. 4 2.ANGLO-SAXONRITUAL…………………………………………………………. 5 3.BURIAL RITUALS …………………………………………………………………. 7 3.1.Ship burial…………………………………………………….…………… 7 3.2.Cremation………………………………………………………………….. 10 3.3.Inhumation…………………………………………………………………. 12 3.4.Mounds…………………………………………………………………….. 13 3.5.Gifts………………………………………………………………………... 13 3.6.Mourning…………………………………………………………………... 15 4.GIFTGIVING………………………………………………………………………. 16 4.1.Loyaltytotheking………………………………………………………… 18 4.2.Punishmentofdisloyalty………………………………………………….. 19 4.3.Giftsgiventothe lord……………………………………………………... 21 5.SYMBEL……………………………………………………………………………. 22 5.1.Boastingandoath………………………………………………………….. 23 5.2.Queen……………………………………………………………………… 24 5.3.King’s hall…………………………………………………………….…… 25 6.SACRIFICES………………………………………………………………………... 27 6.1.Animalandpeoplesacrifice……………………………………………….. 29 7.PROPHECIES………………………………………………………………………. 30 8.SYMBOLS…………………………………………………………………………... 30 8.1.Boars……………………………………………………………………….. 31 9.1.Runes………………………………………………………………………. 31 9.CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………… 33 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………… 36 3 1. INTRODUCTION
    [Show full text]
  • The Sutton Hoo Saxon Ship – Development and Analysis of a Computer Hull Model Prior to Full Scale Reconstruction
    Historic Ships, 7-8 December 2016, London, UK THE SUTTON HOO SAXON SHIP – DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS OF A COMPUTER HULL MODEL PRIOR TO FULL SCALE RECONSTRUCTION P Handley, Paul Handley Design, UK SUMMARY This paper reviews recent research prior to a planned full-size reconstruction of the Saxon ship found at Sutton Hoo. The work included establishing the fundamental form of the ship by reviewing available historic information and data with consideration to possible distortion due to movement of ground and decay of timbers and likely units of measurements used based on measurement of Saxon buildings. From this research a computer hull model was generated and hydrostatic and stability software used to assess the likely displacement, loading and stability characteristics. Performance under oar power was assessed with performance prediction software and a faired lines plan was generated from the computer model. The Woodbridge River Trust plan to commence construction of the full-size replica in 2017. 1. INTRODUCTION - A plan prepared by the Science Museum in 1939 showing the hull lines, section shape at frames and In 1939 an ancient burial mound was excavated near rivet positions for planking. A full copy of the plan is Sutton Hoo in Suffolk and the remains of an Anglo held at the Ipswich Museum and the plan is also Saxon ship uncovered. The ship was almost 27m (90ft) shown as Figure 135 in [1]. long, of wood clinker construction, propelled by up to 40 oarsmen and estimated to date to 625AD. - Information and observations recorded by Robert Bruce-Mitford and Angela Care Evans following the All of the original timber had decayed, but a well- 1967 re-excavation [1].
    [Show full text]
  • The Identity of the Man Commemorated at Sutton Hoo
    A WEALTH OF EVIDENCE! The Identity of the Man Commemorated at Sutton Hoo DIMITRi PH I LLI PS THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND DID NOT BEGIN WITH THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND NOT EVERYTHING SUPPOSED ABOUT THE ANGLO-SAXONS REDUCES TO THE MYTH OF KING ARTHUR AND THE ROUND TABLE. CONTRARY TO COMMON LY HELD BELIEFS, THE DARK AGES OF THE NORTH WERE FULL OF SPLENDOR AND BRILLIANCE; THE ONLY THING DARK ABOUT THEM IS THEIR ENSHROUDED HISTORY, BUT THAT ONLY MAKES THEM ALL THE MORE FASCINATING. THE GREAT BURIAL MOUND AT S UTTO N HOO IN EAST ANGLIA, DISCOVEREDJUST BEFORE WORLD WAR II, SHINES AS ONE OF THE MO ST GRANDIOSE SEPULCHERS IN H I STORY, YET THE IDENTITY OF ITS OCCUPANT REMAINS A MYSTERY. WAS IT A WEALTHY MERCHANT, A WARRIOR FROM OVERSEAS, OR A GREAT KING? THIS PAPER GATHERS, PRESENTS, AND SCRUTINIZES THE EVIDENCE AND AR- GUMENTS FROM ANCIENT RECORDS, OPULENT GRAVE-GOODS, AND CONTEMPORARY INVESTIGATIONS IN AN ATTEMPT TO DETERMINE THE MOST LIKELY CANDIDATE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL INTERRED IN MOUND 1 AT SUTTON HOO. INTRODUCTION would allow for a latest mint date as early as 615-16.v From the very moment of the gravefield's discovery in 1938, sparks of controversy have surrounded the identity of the The far end of the date range is more difficult to determine. person commemorated in what was to be named Mound 1 Some have argued that the burial could not have taken of the Sutton Hoo cemetery, the most lavish and magnifi- place more than 30 years after the lower limit, 615 AD, be- cent burial mound yet uncovered in Anglo-Saxon England.
    [Show full text]