Outreach and widening participation

Applications are now open for our annual Sutton Trust Summer School in Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, which will take place on 13th-17th August. The Sutton Trust is an organisation which seeks to promote social mobility through education, and each year participants in our Summer School are given the opportunity to experience life as a Cambridge undergraduate: staying in a College, attending lectures and seminars, and receiving one-to-one or small group 'supervisions' on the languages, literatures, and history of medieval Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia. More information on how to apply is available via the University's webpages.

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Symposium in memory of Dr David Hill

‘Towns, Topography, Tapestry’
a symposium in memory of Dr David Hill.
7-8 June 2012
John Rylands Library
Deansgate Building
University of Manchester

Papers are being invited from scholars who were close to David, but if others would like to offer papers, submissions are welcome. 

Please contact: Professor Gale Owen-Crocker

Experimental pig husbandry: soil studies from West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village, Suffolk, UK

Introduction

Pig husbandry is practised across the world and often identified in the archaeological record from bones, sometimes also supported by insect and parasite egg studies (e.g. on the Anglo-Scandinavian occupation deposits at Coppergate, York; Kenward & Hall 1995: 759, 778) as well as by coprostanol analysis. Where bones, insects or parasite eggs are not preserved, pig management is less easy to recognise. Nevertheless, soil features and faecal residues may provide micromorphological and chemical indicators of the former presence of pigs and their impact on archaeological stratigraphy.

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University of Oxford Online Archaeology Courses

Enrolment is now open for the following University of Oxford online courses in archaeology:
Archaeology of the Bible Lands (Online)
Exploring Roman Britain (Online)
Greek Mythology (Online)
Origins of Human Behaviour (Online)
Ritual and Religion in Prehistory (Online)
Vikings: Raiders, Traders and Settlers (Online)

Skeletons under patio

A COUPLE were shocked to discover a number of bodies under their patio during construction work at their home in Ratley last week.

Builders were digging up the patio of keen historians Stephen and Nicky West when the discovery of at least four bodies was made and the couple promptly called archaeology experts from Warwickshire County Council.
The archaeologists identified the remains as the bodies of two adult females, a young male and a child aged between ten and 12.

It was determined that the find was of considerable historic importance and that any foul play had taken place a very long time ago.

An archaeological survey was carried out and radiocarbon dating showed the remains date back to about 650-820AD, known as the middle Saxon period.

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Archaeologists unearth 7th-century house in Yorkshire Dales

Humanity's long attachment to Yorkshire has notched up another piece of early evidence with the discovery of the first 7th-century house to be recorded in the Dales national park.

Volunteer archaeologists dug down into an outcrop of stones on the flanks of Ingleborough fell, one of the Three Peaks famous for walks and marathon runs, where settlements were thought to exist but none had been excavated owing to shortages of time, expertise and funds.

The team revealed two chamber rooms with charcoal remains and pieces of chert, a hard flint knapped in ancient times to make tools.

Carbon-dating of the charcoal has placed the use of the building at between AD660 and AD780, when Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were consolidating in northern England.

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Saxon burial ground under Warwickshire couple's home

A Warwickshire man has described the moment builders found human bones under his patio.

Stephen and Nicky West were having their home redeveloped when one of the builders unearthed the remains.

Mr West said: "There was a tap on the door and the builder said 'Stephen, I think there's something you need to see'.

"He had a skull in his hand and I thought 'oh my goodness'."

The couple have lived at their house in Ratley, a village in south Warwickshire, for nearly seven years.

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Archaeology Courses at the Oxford Experience 2012

1 July to 11 August 2012

The 2012 Oxford Experience Programme is now online.

The Oxford Experience is a residential summer school held at the college of Christ Church, University of Oxford.

The programme consists of 6 weeks of courses and participants attend for one or more weeks.

It offers a choice of twelve seminars each week over a period of five weeks. Participants do not need any formal qualifications to take part, just an interest in their chosen subject and a desire to meet like-minded people.

You can also find details of the various archaeology courses offered at Oxford Experience here...

Staffordshire Gold Hoard

One day, or perhaps one night, in the late seventh century an unknown party traveled along an old Roman road that cut across an uninhabited heath fringed by forest in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. Possibly they were soldiers, or then again maybe thieves—the remote area would remain notorious for highwaymen for centuries—but at any rate they were not casual travelers. Stepping off the road near the rise of a small ridge, they dug a pit and buried a stash of treasure in the ground.

For 1,300 years the treasure lay undisturbed, and eventually the landscape evolved from forest clearing to grazing pasture to working field. Then treasure hunters equipped with metal detectors—ubiquitous in Britain—began to call on farmer Fred Johnson, asking permission to walk the field. "I told one I'd lost a wrench and asked him to find that," Johnson says. Instead, on July 5, 2009, Terry Herbert came to the farmhouse door and announced to Johnson that he had found Anglo-Saxon treasure.

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Bicester Anglo-Saxon skeletons re-interred

Fifteen Anglo-Saxon skeletons unearthed in Oxfordshire last year have been re-interred in a church memorial garden.

A requiem mass was held on Saturday before a wicker coffin containing all the remains was buried at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Bicester.

The Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, whose diocese covers Bicester, led the Roman Catholic ceremony.
The burial led to a disagreement with the church and local archaeologists, who wanted the bones put in a museum.

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Converting the Isles

On Friday and Saturday 23 - 24 September 2011, the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic (University of Cambridge) hosted a two-day interdisciplinary conference on conversion to Christianity in North West Europe. It featured papers by an international group of historians, archaeologists and philologists, who were given a unique forum in which to explore conversion comparatively by focusing on different parts of Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and Iceland in the early and central middle ages. The combination of places chosen for the discussion reflects our wish to establish a wide comparative framework, covering areas that are of significance to the study of conversion in both the pre-Viking and the Viking era. The talks were recorded and audio podcasts will be posted online soon.


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Loftus royal treasure attracts 28,000 to Redcar museum

A collection of 7th Century treasure found in Loftus has attracted more than 28,000 visitors after being put on display in Redcar.

The artefacts, on display since May, were found between 2005 and 2007 at the only known Anglo-Saxon royal burial site in north-east England.

On show at Kirkleatham Museum, they have been hailed by archaeologists as some of the rarest discovered.

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Das »Internationale Sachsensymposion« lockt rund 100 Experten ins Landesmuseum Hannover

Das »Internationale Sachsensymposion« lockt rund 100 Experten ins Landesmuseum Hannover 

Archäologen, Historiker und Anthropologen aus ganz Europa widmen sich derzeit während einer fünftägigen Konferenz der interdisziplinären Erforschung des frühmittelalterlichen Stammesverbands der Sachsen und ihrer Nachbarvölker im ersten Jahrtausend.

Die Sachsen des frühen Mittelalters haben die politischen und historischen Abläufe in Europa entscheidend geprägt. Am Landesmuseum Hannover bildet die landesgeschichtlich orientierte »Sachsenforschung« einen Schwerpunkt der wissenschaftlichen Forschungsarbeit im Bereich der Ur- und Frühgeschichte. Dabei steht zum einen die Erschließung der umfangreichen Sammlungsbestände des Hauses zur Geschichte des ersten Jahrtausends in Niedersachsen im Vordergrund. Zum anderen werden die Entstehung und Entwicklung des frühmittelalterlichen Stammesverbandes erforscht.

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Historic Leper Hospital

Archaeologists have uncovered further evidence of one of the country's earliest hospitals, built specifically for people with leprosy. They've been working in a field on the outskirts of Winchester. And, they've been able to find out more about how patients were treated. In his report David Woodland spoke to Dr Simon Roffey from Winchester University. Watch the video...

Life in a Saxon hall

The re-enactment society Regia Anglorum is reconstructing an early medieval Saxon hall in Kent using materials and construction methods of the time. Regia Anglorum is a re-enactment society that aims to recreate as accurately as possible life in Anglo-Saxon and Viking Britain. Over the past 10 years, we have been building the Wychurst project – a fortified manor hall, using materials and construction methods of the time – on three acres of land in Kent. We have a rotation of 60-odd people who work on the project in the middle weekend of each month. The hall is 30ft high, 60ft long and 30ft wide, and is based on the West Hall at Cheddar, built around 850. No buildings of this type from the period have survived, so we did an enormous amount of research from archaeological dig reports and written accounts. It is built entirely in English oak, mostly sourced from within a mile of the site, which makes it a very accurate reconstruction. It is a great hall, where the local lord would have lived with his family and a few of his men. It would have served as town hall, law court, police station and as a place for protection. Read the rest of this article...

Amateur treasure-hunter's haul

We take a look at what amateur treasure-hunter David Booth found...

An ANGLO-SAXON STRAP-END and three ANGLO-SAXON COINS, found near Dumfries, have been allocated to Dumfries Museum.

The fragmentary strap-end, above, dates from the ninth century. Such items are not uncommon finds in southern Scotland, but this example is all the more significant in being recovered alongside three Anglo-Saxon coins, which also date from the ninth century.

Medieval experts say this small group of finds is a substantial reminder of the cultural ebb and flow which constituted the Scotland of the Early Historic period.

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Sapphire ring 'belonged to Anglo-Saxon or Viking royalty'

A unique gold and sapphire finger ring, found by a metal detectorist and just purchased by the Yorkshire Museum, almost certainly belonged to Anglo-Saxon or Viking royalty, very senior clergy or a leading member of the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy, say historians.

Of very great historical importance, it is the only Anglo-Saxon era sapphire ever found in the ground in Britain. The only other sapphire from the period is the one that the Queen wears in her Imperial State Crown, used at the opening of Parliament. Known as St. Edward’s sapphire, this latter gem was once part of King Edward the Confessor’s finger ring and is now the oldest gem in the British crown jewels.

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More 'medieval' skeletons found in Kempsey

Another 16 graves have been found in a Worcestershire village where new flood defences are being built.

The 16 are in addition to the 12 uncovered in Kempsey last week next to St James Church.

It is thought that some of the skeletons could date back as early as 500 AD.

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Yorkshire Museum buys rare sapphire ring

A rare sapphire ring, discovered by a metal detector enthusiast, has been bought by the Yorkshire Museum.

The museum has raised £35,000 to purchase the piece of jewellery, which archaeologists described as a "spectacular" find.

The ring, found near York and measuring 2.5cm across, could have been made as early as the 7th Century.

It was found by Michael Greenhorn from the York and District Metal Detecting Club in April 2009.

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Langstone Harbour Saxon logboat in Portsmouth display

A 1,500-year-old logboat found buried in the mudflats of a harbour in Hampshire has gone on display.

The Saxon boat excavated from Langstone Harbour in 2003 can be seen in an exhibition at Portsmouth City Museum.

The hollowed out oak tree formed a wooden canoe, which was probably used by local people around 500 AD.

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