THE EARLY MEDIEVAL NORTH ATLANTIC Mirrington Society in Anglo-Saxon Essex Society Anglo-Saxon in of IdentityTransformations and Alexander D. Mirrington Transformations of Identity and Society in Anglo-Saxon Essex A Case Study of an Early Medieval North Atlantic Community Transformations of Identity and Society in Anglo-Saxon Essex The Early Medieval North Atlantic This series provides a publishing platform for research on the history, cultures, and societies that laced the North Sea from the Migration Period at the twilight of the Roman Empire to the eleventh century. The point of departure for this series is the commitment to regarding the North Atlantic as a centre, rather than a periphery, thus connecting the histories of peoples and communities traditionally treated in isolation: Anglo-Saxons, Scandinavians/Vikings, Celtic communities, Baltic communities, the Franks, etc. From this perspective new insights can be made into processes of transformation, economic and cultural exchange, the formation of identities, etc. It also allows for the inclusion of more distant cultures – such as Greenland, North America, and Russia – which are of increasing interest to scholars in this research context. Series Editors Marjolein Stern, Gent University Charlene Eska, Virginia Tech Julianna Grigg, Monash University Transformations of Identity and Society in Anglo-Saxon Essex A Case Study of an Early Medieval North Atlantic Community Alexander D. Mirrington Amsterdam University Press Cover illustration: Silver ring, from the Anglo-Saxon Period, found in the River Thames Photograph by Valerie McGlinchey Cover design: Coördesign, Leiden Typesetting: Crius Group, Hulshout isbn 978 94 6298 034 1 e-isbn 978 90 4852 960 5 (pdf) doi 10.5117/9789462980341 nur 684 © Alexander D. Mirrington / Amsterdam University Press B.V., Amsterdam 2019 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. Every effort has been made to obtain permission to use all copyrighted illustrations reproduced in this book. Nonetheless, whosoever believes to have rights to this material is advised to contact the publisher. Table of Contents Abbreviations 13 1 Introduction 15 Topographical background of the Essex region 17 The research context 18 Group identity 19 Trade, exchange, and networks 24 Social complexity 34 Previous literature on Anglo-Saxon Essex/previous work in the region 37 Sources of evidence 44 Dress accessories 45 Pottery 46 Coinage 47 The quality of the evidence and limits of inference from excavated and unstratified data 50 How this book is structured 53 The major themes and findings 54 2 c.400-c.650 57 Dress accessories, c.400-c.650 58 Dress and identity in the fifth century 58 Dress and identity in the early fifth century 59 Late Roman military belt fittings 59 Fifth-century continental imported brooches 60 Dress accessories with Quoit Brooch Style decoration 60 Roman fashion 61 Patterns of dress and fashion, c.450-600 63 Beads 63 Metal dress accessories, c.450-c.600 64 ‘Saxon’ dress among the ‘East Saxons’ 65 ‘Anglian’ dress 68 Other influences on regional fashion 71 Francia 71 Kent 72 Changes in costume, c.600-50: Kentish affiliation and the ‘Final Phase’ 73 Conclusions 75 A new picture of early medieval dress use in Essex 76 Coinage use in fifth- and sixth-century Anglo-Saxon Essex 78 The earliest evidence of coinage use 78 Byzantine coins 78 Reuse of Roman coins 79 Coinage in Essex, c.500-c.675 79 Tremisses and solidi 79 Shillings 82 Conclusions 83 Pottery use in fifth- and sixth-century Essex 84 Handmade local pottery 84 Fabric, chronology, and distribution 84 Form 85 Origins 86 Imported French pottery 87 Summary 87 Discussion 88 Dress and identity in Essex, c.400-600 88 Results from the study of early dress in Essex 90 The wider context of the construction of ‘Anglo-Saxon’ costume in the formation of Anglo-Saxon society in Essex 94 A middle-way interpretation 99 Early exchange systems evidenced by the use of material culture, c.400-600 100 Fifth- to mid-seventh-century coastal exchange 100 Early exchange and the expression of elite status 102 Summary 106 3 c.650-c.800 109 Coinage c.650-c.800 110 Silver deniers 110 English pale-gold coinage 111 Coinage in Essex, c.675-c.760 112 Primary- and intermediate-phase sceattas, c.675-c.710 112 Secondary-phase sceattas, c.710-c.760 113 Coinage from Essex 113 Series B 113 Series S 115 Coinage from Kent 117 Series A 117 Series C 118 Kentish secondary-phase sceattas 118 Coinage from London 119 East Anglian coinage 121 Mercian coinage 122 Northumbrian coinage 123 West Saxon coinage 124 Continental sceattas 124 Frisian 124 Danish 125 ?French (Quentovic) 126 Coinage in Essex, c.760-c.850 126 Northumbrian stycas 126 English broad-flan pennies 127 Mercian coinage: Offa 128 Conclusions 129 Pottery 129 The local-pottery background 130 Imported pottery 130 Ipswich ware 130 Rhenish wares 132 French wares 133 Conclusions 134 Dress accessories, c.650-c.800 135 Dress and the reflection of maritime identities 136 Conclusions 136 Discussion 137 The end of regional styles and its implications 137 An alternative explanation 139 Contemporary landing places and sites of exchange in Essex 140 Tilbury 140 Barking 141 North-west Essex 142 Lashley Wood/Green 143 Canvey Island/Benfleet Creek 145 ?Goldhanger Creek 146 Great Bromley 147 Bradwell 148 Fingringhoe 150 Little Oakley, Great Oakley, and the Harwich area 153 Summary and conclusions 153 The expansion of the coastal network in the seventh and eighth centuries 155 The evidence and conclusions from the present study 158 Exchange hubs and the relationship between town and country 165 Conclusions 171 4 c.800-1066 173 Dress in Essex, c.800-1066 173 Disc brooches (ninth to eleventh centuries) 174 Strap-ends and the adoption of new art styles (ninth to eleventh centuries) 174 Lobed disc brooches (eleventh century) 176 Scandinavian cultural affiliations 176 The first phase of Scandinavian rule, c.877-917 176 The second phase of Scandinavian rule, c.1016-42 179 Summary 180 Coinage c.800-1066 181 Coinage c.800-50 181 Mercian coinage after Offa, 796-c.850 181 West Saxon coinage, c.800-50 182 Coinage in Essex, c.850-973 183 West Saxon and Danelaw coinage, c.850-c.920 183 Coinage in Essex, c.920-73 185 Coinage in Essex, c.973-1066 186 Summary 188 Pottery, c.800-1066 189 Earliest imported wares: French wares 189 Pottery in Essex, c.850-c.1050 189 Local pottery 189 Imported pottery 191 Thetford ware 191 St. Neots ware 191 Stamford ware 192 Rhenish pottery 193 Wares from Flanders/Belgium 193 Summary 194 Discussion 194 The development of a ninth-/tenth-century cosmopolitan culture 194 Scandinavian cultural affiliations and practice, c.850-1040 196 Phase 1: c.850-917 196 Votive deposits 199 Viking camps 199 Summary, c.850-917 200 Phase 2: c.1000-42 200 The Viking impact on long-distance trade networks in Essex 202 The fate of smaller landing places/sites of exchange 205 The development of towns and the urban-rural relationship (ninth to mid-eleventh centuries) 208 The Viking impact 208 Urban development in Essex 209 London-Essex relationship 212 Summary 213 5 Summary and conclusions 215 The results from dress-accessory data 215 Chapter 2 (c.400-c.650) 215 Chapter 3 (c.650-c.800) 217 Chapter 4 (c.800-c.1066) 217 The results from the pottery study 218 Chapter 2 (c.400-c.650) 218 Chapter 3 (c.650-c.800) 219 Chapter 4 (c.800-1066) 220 The results from numismatic data 221 Chapter 2 (c.400-c.650) 221 Chapter 3 (c.650-c.800) 221 Chapter 4 (c.800-1066) 222 Thematic conclusions in the light of all of the available evidence 224 Group affiliation 224 The structure and operation of long-distance exchange networks in Essex 225 The role of elites in the transformation of Essex 228 Appendix: Maps 231 Bibliography 275 Index 295 List of graphs and maps Graphs Graph 1 Dress accessories by frequency and context (minimum ten finds) 91 Graph 2 The frequencies of dress accessories in north-western, central, and south-eastern Essex 92 Graph 3 Compositional graph of the coin finds from the ‘productive site’ at Tilbury 140 Graph 4 The chronological distribution of the coinage from Barking 142 Graph 5 The chronological distribution of the coinage found at ‘north-west Essex’ 143 Graph 6 Compositional chart of the coinage from ‘north-west Essex’ 143 Graph 7 Compositional chart of the coinage from Lashley Wood/Lashley Green 144 Graph 8 The chronological distribution of the coinage found at Lashley Wood/Green 144 Graph 9 Compositional chart of the coinage from Canvey Island and Benfleet Creek 145 Graph 10 Chronological distribution chart of finds from Canvey Island/Benfleet Creek 146 Graph 11 Chronological distribution of the coinage from the Bromley area 147 Graph 12 Compositional chart of the coinage from Great and Little Bromley 148 Graph 13 Chronological distribution of coins from Bradwell 149 Graph 14 Compositional chart of coins found at Bradwell 150 Graph 15 Chronological distribution chart of coinage from Fingringhoe 151 Graph 16 Compositional chart of Fingringhoe coinage 152 Graph 17 Compositional graph of coinage found in the City of London 165 Graph 18 Chronological distribution of coin finds from non- urban sites of exchange 205 Maps Map 1 Map of the study region and key sites 231 Map 2 Late Roman military