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STIRRUP: 950–1050 the CUDDESDON BOWL: C600 THE

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STIRRUP: 950–1050 the CUDDESDON BOWL: C600 THE STIRRUP: 950–1050 THE ALFRED JEWEL: 871–899 • Found in 1693, ploughed up in a field at North Petherton, Somerset. • Found only a few miles from Athelney Abbey where Alfred planned his counter-attack on the Great Army Why do you think the of the Danes. • Found near Magdalen Bridge in Oxford. stirrups didn’t match? • This attack helped spur Alfred on to victory at • Found with other objects including another RESEARCH: Find out Edington in 878. non-matching stirrup. what a Viking or an • The jewel was given to the Ashmolean in 1718. • Probably from a Viking burial. Anglo-Saxon warrior • An inscription on the jewel reads ‘Aelfred mec would have looked like. heht gewyrkan’. This means ‘Aelfred ordered me to be made’. DRAW your warrior. • Once thought to be a jewel from a crown. MAKE an aestel and stick it on a pencil. • Now thought to be an ‘aestel’ – a pointer to help monks follow text in a manuscript. THE CUDDESDON BOWL: c600 ABINGDON SWORD: 875 • Blue glass bowl found in 1847 in Cuddesdon, Oxfordshire. • Part of a sword found near Abingdon in • From the grave of an Anglo-Saxon of noble rank Oxfordshire in 1874. during alterations to the Bishop of Oxford’s palace. • The hilt is decorated with six engraved Who might have • The bowl went missing for many years. silver mounts. owned this sword? • Spotted on a mantelpiece in Leicestershire in 1971 • The patterns are interlacing leaves, animals being used as flower vase! HAVE A GO at creating and human figures. Anglo-Saxon patterns • Probably made in Kent. • The pommel has two animal heads with on silver or gold foil. • Glass making furnaces have been found in York, How do you think the protruding ears, round eyes and nostrils but Glastonbury and Kent. vase could have got to they are rather worn. • Some Anglo-Saxon glass was made of melted a house in Leicester? down Roman glass. WRITE an account of the bowl’s adventures. THE ALFREDJEWEL: 871–899 ABINGDON SWORD: 875 THE CUDDESDON BOWL : c600 STIRRUP: 950–1050 HOLDERNESS CROSS: 7th century ODDA STONE: 1056 • Discovered in an orchard in Deerhurst, CHALLENGE: Use EVA Gloucestershire, in 1675. foam and ‘carve’ your • This cross was found on the Holderness own inscription. peninsula in East Yorkshire. CHALLENGE: Design • The inscription in Latin tells us that Earl Odda had the stone made in memory of his brother Aelfric and Just use a pencil to make • Made from gold and garnets. your own Anglo-Saxon jewellery using gold placed in a chapel in 1056. your marks on the foam. • Dark red garnets were particularly popular card or foil and sticky • Odda was related to Edward the Confessor. in early Anglo-Saxon jewellery. Your inscription could gems. • About 200 years aer this stone was found, the • Only 58 of the original 95 garnets remain. be in Anglo-Saxon chapel mentioned in the inscription was found. runes. Use our ‘Writing • An old stone house was being renovated. The chapel in Runes’ sheet to emerged from under layers of plaster! help you do this. SHIELD BOSS: 400–1066 DIE: c400 • Found in a male burial near Berinsfield, Oxfordshire. • This die is made of antler. It was probably • Anglo-Saxon shields were made of wood. made when the Romans were still in Britain. • The metal boss at the centre of the shield turned it • Found in a high status burial of a man at CHALLENGE: Nine RESEARCH KENNINGS: into an extra weapon, not just a defensive object. Asthall Barrow in Oxfordshire. The man Men’s Morris was a make up a name for an The warrior could jab at opponents with his shield. died between 550 and 650 AD. popular game in Anglo- Anglo-Saxon shield • Warriors would typically carry a sword or a spear. • The Anglo-Saxons loved games. Saxon times. • Warriors could also create a shield wall by • Gaming pieces were usually made of bone, RESEARCH THE GAME: overlapping their shields on the battle field for pottery, glass or stone. make your own boards extra defence. • They are oen found in Anglo-Saxon and pieces then play the • High status men would be buried with a seax–a graves. game with your friends. shorter knife. The name ‘Saxon’ comes from the • The boards the games were played on are word ‘seax’. rarely found as they were made of wood. ODDA STONE: 1056 HOLDERNESS CROSS: 7th century DIE – c400 SHIELD BOSS – 400–1066 TWEEZERS: 450–650 BUCKET: 450–650 • Found in Cambridgeshire. • Made of copper alloy – a mixture of copper RESEARCH the jobs an with either tin or zinc. Anglo-Saxon woman would do. • Found in Haslingfield, Cambridgeshire. • Toilet sets are oen found in female burials as well as other objects of daily use that an WRITE a list of items • Reconstructed using modern wood and the original Anglo-Saxon woman might need. that might be found in copper alloy handle and other parts. a burial. What do you think happened to the wood? CLAW BEAKER: 520–540 THE CUERDALE HOARD: c905 • Found by the banks of the River Ribble, Cuerdale, Lancashire. • This glass beaker was found in a male burial in Finglesham, Kent. • The hoard is the largest found in England, weighing 40 kg. • It is called a claw beaker because of the talon- shaped decorations. • The hoard is the largest found in England, weighing 40 kg and made up of 8,600 pieces. What do you think the • Most of the hoard is on display at the British Why do you think beaker was used for? Museum. The Ashmolean has this selection the hoard was never of objects on display. Who might have used it? recovered by the person • This large hoard was buried shortly aer who buried it? the Vikings were expelled from Ireland. It was probably buried en route to York. • Found in 1840 and originally given to Queen Victoria. : 450–650 BUCKET TWEEZERS: 450–650 : 520–540 THE CUERDALE HOARD: c905 BEAKER CLAW HIGHLIGHT CARDS These cards highlight 15 objects from our Anglo-Saxon collection. All the objects are on display in England, Gallery 41 on floor 2 of the museum. Occasionally objects may be taken o display for study or conservation. The Highlight Cards give: • Questions to encourage discussion The cards are • Additional information about key designed to be Anglo-Saxon objects used by teachers • Ideas for challenges to try out in but could be used the classroom independently by more able students. THE WATLINGTON HOARD: 879–880 GILT BRONZE BUCKLE: 500–600 • Found near Watlington, Oxfordshire in 2015. • The hoard is made up of coins, jewellery, • Found in a princely burial in Finglesham, Kent hacksilver, and a rare piece of hackgold. IMAGINE you found • Decorated with a male figure holding two spears and • The hoard was found by a metal dectorist. the hoard. Describe wearing a horned helmet. A find like this is treasure and must be the moment you found • The figure might represent the Germanic God reported to the Portable Antiquities it. Write a news report Woden. Scheme. about the discovery. • Woden was the most important Anglo-Saxon God. RESEARCH Anglo-Saxon • If you find treasure you must report it. If • Woden gave the name Wednesday. you don’t, you could be fined or jailed. Gods and learn the • Other Gods gave us the other days of the week. names of the week. ANGLO-SAXON HIGHLIGHT CARDS : 500–600 GILT BRONZE BUCKLE THE WATLINGTON HOARD: 879–880.
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