Lincoln in the Viking Age: A 'Town' in Context Aleida Tessa Ten Harke! A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield March 2010 Volume 1 Paginated blank pages are scanned as found in original thesis No information • • • IS missing ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the development of Lincoln in the period c. 870-1000 AD. Traditional approaches to urban settlements often focus on chronology, and treat towns in isolation from their surrounding regions. Taking Lincoln as a case study, this PhD research, in contrast, analyses the identities of the settlement and its inhabitants from a regional perspective, focusing on the historic region of Lindsey, and places it in the context of the Scandinavian settlement. Developing an integrated and interdisciplinary approach that can be applied to datasets from different regions and time periods, this thesis analyses four categories of material culture - funerary deposits, coinage, metalwork and pottery - each of which occur in significant numbers inside and outside Lincoln. Chapter 1 summarises previous work on late Anglo-Saxon towns and introduces the approach adopted in this thesis. Chapter 2 provides a discussion of Lincoln's development during the Anglo-Saxon period, and introduces the datasets. Highlighting problems encountered during past investigations, this chapter also discusses the main methodological considerations relevant to the wide range of different categories of material culture that stand central to this thesis, which are retrieved through a combination of intrusive and non-intrusive methods under varying circumstances. Chapters 3-6 focus on funerary deposits, coinage, metalwork and pottery respectively, through analysis of distribution patterns and the impact of changes in production processes on the identity of Lincoln and its inhabitants. It is argued that a straightforward distinction between 'town' and 'country' is too simplistic. Viking- ; Age Lincoln was firmly embedded within the surrounding region, and neither Lincoln nor Lindsey was a homogenous entity. The formation of Lincoln's 'urban' identity was the outcome of changes in late ninth- and tenth-century socio-political structures, many of which had been set in motion centuries before the Scandinavian settlement. CONTENTS List of figures v List of appendices vii List of abbreviations lx Acknowledgements xi CHAPTER1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1: Aims and objectives 1 1.2: The political background 2 1.3: Lincoln and the study of Anglo-Saxon towns 6 1.4: Lindsey and the study of late Anglo-Saxon rural settlement 12 1.5: Lincoln and Lindsey, or the study of Anglo-Saxon towns in 16 their regional context: towards a new approach 1.6: Terminology 24 CHAPTER2: METHODOLOGY 27 2.1: Introduction 27 2.2: The archaeology of Lincoln 31 2.2.1: The archaeology of Lincoln: introduction 31 2.2.2: The archaeology of Lincoln: the Upper City 33 2.2.3: The archaeology of Lincoln: the Lower City 37 2.2.4: The archaeology of Lincoln: Wigford 40 2.2.5: The archaeology of Lincoln: Butwerk 42 2.2.6: The archaeology of Lincoln: conclusions 43 2.3: The archaeology of the rest of Lindsey 43 2.4: The datasets 49 2.4.1: The datasets: introduction 49 2.4.2: The burials 49 2.4.3: The sculpture 51 2.4.4: The coinage 54 2.4.5: The metalwork 56 2.4.6: The pottery 59 2.4.7: The datasets: conclusions 64 2.5: Conclusion 64 CHAPTER3: FUNERARYDEPOSITS 67 3.1: Introduction 67 3.2: The sculpture: existing research 68 3.3: The burials: existing research 79 3.4: Spatial distribution of the sculpture 85 3.4.1: Spatial distribution of the sculpture: introduction 85 3.4.2: Spatial distribution of the sculpture: The Upper City 85 3.4.3: Spatial distribution of the sculpture: The Lower City 89 and Butwerk 3.4.4: Spatial distribution of the sculpture: Wigford 92 3.4.5: Spatial distribution of the sculpture: conclusions 95 3.5.1: Burials and settlements 96 3.5.1: Burials and settlements: introduction 96 3.5.2: Burials and settlements: Lincoln 97 3.5.3: Burials and settlements: Lindsey 103 3.5.4: Burials and settlements: conclusions 108 3.6: Funerary deposits as a medium for social and political display 109 3.6.1: Funerary deposits as a medium for social and political 109 display: introduction 3.6.2: Funerary deposits below ground as a medium for social 109 and political display 3.6.3: Funerary deposits above ground as a medium for social 110 and political display 3.6.4: Funerary deposits as a medium for social and political 119 display: conclusions 3.7: Production and power: the rise of a new elite 119 3.8: Conclusions 121 CHAPTER4: COINAGE 123 4.1: Introduction 123 4.2: The coinage: existing research 124 4.3: The coinage from a spatial perspective 130 4.3.1: The coinage from a spatial perspective: introduction 130 4.3.2: Coin-finds from Lincoln and Lindsey: beforec. 880 131 4.3.3: Coin-finds from Lincoln and Lindsey: 880s-910s 134 4.3.4: Coin-finds from Lincoln and Lindsey: the early tenth 139 century 4.3.5: Coin-finds from Lincoln and Lindsey: 927-46 AD 140 4.3.6: Coin-finds from Lincoln and Lindsey: 946-73 AD 143 4.3.7: Coin-finds from Lincoln and Lindsey: after 973 AD 147 4.3.8: The coinage from a spatial perspective: conclusions 151 4.4: Lincoln's mint 152 4.4.1: Lincoln's mint: introduction 152 11 4.4.2: The production of the Lincoln Monogram coins 153 4.4.3: The production of the St Martin's coinage 158 4.4.4: The production of the 'national' Anglo-Saxon coinages 164 at Lincoln before c. 973 AD 4.4.5: The production of the 'national' Anglo-Saxon coinages 166 at Lincoln after c. 973 AD 4.4.6: Coin production and settlement development 170 4.4.7: Lincoln's mint: conclusions 172 4.5: The use of money in late ninth- and tenth-century society 172 4.6: Conclusions 174 CHAPTER5: THE METALWORK 175 5.1: Introduction 175 5.2: The metalwork: existing research 175 5.3: The metalwork from a spatial perspective 186 5.3.1: The metalwork from a spatial perspective: introduction 186 5.3.2.1: 'Foreign' treasure: the UDper City in its regional context 188 5.3.2.2: Lincoln as production centre: the Lower City and 190 Wigford 5.3.2.3: 'Scandinavian' brooches and 'Hiberno-Norse' pins: the 201 spatial distribution of 'ethnic' styles across Lincolnshire 5.3.3: The spatial distribution of 'Norse' bells 205 5.3.4: Equestrian equipment: dress-accessories for horses 208 5.3.5: 'Viking' warriors and craftsmen: evidence for the use of 212 weapons and knives in tenth-century Lincoln and Lindsey 5.3.6: 'Viking' traders: balances and weights 214 5.3.7: 'Other' objects 216 5.3.8: The metalwork from a spatial perspective: conclusions 217 5.4: The socio-economic dimensions of production and 218 consumption 5.4.1: The socio-economic dimensions of production and 218 consumption: introduction 5.4.2: The production of fashion 220 5.4.3: Treasure and 'trashy dress fittings': the Anglo-Saxon 224 smith and the use of different materials 5.4.4: The production and consumption of the metalwork 229 from Lincoln and Lindsey: conclusions 5.5: Conclusions 229 III CHAPTER6: POTTERY 231 6.1: Introduction 231 6.2: The pottery: existing research 231 6.3: The pottery from a spatial perspective 240 6.3.1: The pottery from a spatial perspective: introduction 240 6.3.2: Pottery from Lincoln and Lindsey: c. 870 and before 241 6.3.3: Pottery from Lincoln and Lindsey before c. 870 AD: 245 imported wares 6.3.4: Pottery from Lincoln c. 870-950 247 6.3.5: Pottery from Lindsey, c. 870-950 252 6.3.6: Pottery from Lincoln and Lindsey: c. 950-1000 255 6.3.7: The pottery from a spatial perspective: conclusions 260 6.4: Conclusions 260 CHAPTER7: DISCUSSION 261 Bibliography 267 Figures 297 Appendices 343 IV LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1: Location of Lincoln within the British Isles. 297 Fig. 2: Map of Lincolnshire showing the location of the districts, main 298 rivers and main settlements mentioned in the text. Fig. 3: Sites in Lincoln. 299 Fig. 4: The area immediately surrounding Lincoln, with contour lines and 300 the location of Stamp End. Fig. 5: The area of Lindsey and location of placenames mentioned in 301 Domesday Book, organised per wapentake. Fig. 6: Possible tenth-century sculpture fragments produced in or near 304 Lincoln. Fig. 7: Tenth-century sculpture fragments from Lindsey that do not belong 305 to the main typological groups. Fig. 8: Sites with sculpture in Lincoln. 306 Fig. 9: Possible tenth-century sculpture fragments from the Kesteven 307 quarries (Ancaster and Barnack). Fig. 10: Possible tenth-century sculpture fragments produced of Yorkshire 308 stone (Millstone Grit), and of unidentified stone type. Fig. 11: The main sculpture types that occurred in Lindsey in the tenth 309 century. Fig. 12: Relative distribution of possible tenth-century funerary sculpture 310 fragments from the Lindsey- and Kesteven-based quarries. Fig. 13: Plan of sites with possible middle and late Anglo-Saxon burial 311 sites in Lincoln Fig. 14: Location of possible and definite middle- to late Anglo-Saxon 312 burials in Lindsey and Kesteven. Fig. 15: Photographs of coins mentioned in the text (1). 313 Fig. 16: Location of coin finds predating c. 880 AD in Lindsey, Kesteven 314 and Holland. Fig. 17: Photographs of coins mentioned in the text (2).