A Study of the Distribution, Form and Context of Anglo-Saxon Vessel Glass in seventh to eleventh century England Rosalind Broadley University College London Submitted for the degree of PhD 1 I, Rosalind Broadley, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. 2 Abstract This thesis is a study of all known Anglo-Saxon vessel glass (2847 sherds) found at twenty-three settlement sites in England dating to between the seventh and eleventh centuries. This material reveals new understandings regarding economic and social structures, and identities in Anglo-Saxon England. Data collected from recording glass first-hand was combined with information gathered from publications, archives and personal communication with excavators and specialists to form the first national dataset. Quantification of individual vessel forms, colours and decoration, and mapping the distribution of all vessel characteristics has led to the creation of a new typological and geographical framework for understanding these objects. Glass vessels were used on three principal site types: emporia, monasteries and middle-ranking rural estate centres. Site assemblages of glass vessel fragments can now be characterized and compared to the national corpus to aid interpretation of the nature of the source settlement – and vice versa - because of the discovery that palm-funnel series vessels are much more prevalent at emporia and globular beakers at ecclesiastical sites, showing that glass was being supplied and used in different ways. Seven case studies of intra-site glass distribution revealed that the anticipated pattern of peripheral disposal alongside dining waste is widespread, but exceptions exist at the monastic sites at Lyminge, Kent, and Jarrow, Tyne and Wear. Preliminary study of similar material from the rest of the North Sea zone indicates largely parallel patterns of trade and consumption of glass vessels by the same three site types, with great potential for future work and comparison with English data sets. 3 Acknowledgements Many others have assisted me throughout the long life of this project, and deserve my heartfelt thanks. In particular, Dr Catherine Hills and Dr Helen Geake for getting me off to a good start in Cambridge, and Prof. Andrew Reynolds for accepting me later at UCL and supporting me through resuming, having a maternity break, resuming again, and finally completing. At UCL I have also benefited greatly from the knowledge and patience of Dr. Stuart Brookes and Prof. Ian Freestone. Information and access was provided by the staff of museums, archaeological units and all the Historic Environment Records up and down the land, and their help is much appreciated. Particular thanks go to Prof. Jenny Price and Prof. Dominic Powlesland for inviting me into their homes during a foray into Yorkshire, and to Andrew Tester of Suffolk County Council for suffering my presence on two separate occasions. Finally, this project would never have reached completion without the practical and moral support of my husband, James Broadley, and the amazing childcare skills of his mother, Gill – I have been planning all along to write your names in the front, and now here they are! 4 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ 4 List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 4 ............................................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 5 ......................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 6 ......................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 7 ........................................................................................................................ 18 Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 19 Scope ................................................................................................................................ 20 Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 23 Contextualizing glass vessels as a container type .......................................... 26 Chapter 2: A history of research on mid to late Anglo-Saxon glass vessels ................................................................................................................................................. 31 Vessel types and chronology .................................................................................. 31 Glass from the emporia and settlements in western Britain ..................... 42 Characterization of site assemblages and the national corpus ................. 49 Site types and intra-site distribution ................................................................... 54 Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 61 Chapter 3: Research themes, questions and methodologies .......................... 66 Research themes and questions ............................................................................ 66 The dataset .................................................................................................................... 70 Typological approaches to the study of Anglo-Saxon glass from settlement contexts .................................................................................................... 75 Contextual approaches to the study of Anglo-Saxon glass from settlement contexts .................................................................................................... 77 Compositional Analysis ............................................................................................. 79 Chapter 4: The corpus overall: form, colour and decoration .......................... 83 Correspondence analysis ....................................................................................... 102 Geographical distribution ...................................................................................... 121 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 131 Chapter 5: Assemblage analysis ............................................................................... 141 Assemblages from emporia ................................................................................... 141 Hamwic (Southampton) ...................................................................................... 141 Ipswich ...................................................................................................................... 146 London ...................................................................................................................... 151 5 York ............................................................................................................................ 156 The emporia ............................................................................................................ 160 Ecclesiastical site assemblages ............................................................................ 163 Lyminge, Kent ......................................................................................................... 163 Jarrow and Monkwearmouth ............................................................................ 170 Barking, Essex ......................................................................................................... 178 Whitby, Yorkshire .................................................................................................. 182 The ecclesiastical sites ......................................................................................... 186 Comparing emporia and ecclesiastical averages .......................................... 190 Brandon, Suffolk .................................................................................................... 190 Flixborough, Lincolnshire ................................................................................... 196 West Heslerton, Yorkshire .................................................................................. 201 Butley, Suffolk ......................................................................................................... 207 Sedgeford, Norfolk................................................................................................. 212 Canterbury ............................................................................................................... 215 Northampton .......................................................................................................... 219 Portchester, Hampshire (Shore Fort) ............................................................. 223 Beverley, Yorkshire ..............................................................................................