A short video by Gary Brun, showing the finding of the Wantage Saxon Brooch.
Watch the video...
Saturday, 3 October 2009
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
A new angle on the Saxons
Historians are only starting to realise the magnitude of the Staffordshire hoard discovery
The snaking line of more than 1,000 people queuing to enter the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery on Friday afternoon illustrated perfectly the surge of interest sparked by the announcement — just a day before — of the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever discovered.
Among those queuing to see the artefacts was Allison Buckley, 47, from Stafford. “It is almost as exciting as queuing to see the treasures of Tutankhamun,” she said, recalling the rush to see the Egyptian boy king’s death mask in London in 1972. “What makes this so exciting is that it has just been unearthed. There is still soil on the pieces and you can imagine it in the ground.”
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The snaking line of more than 1,000 people queuing to enter the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery on Friday afternoon illustrated perfectly the surge of interest sparked by the announcement — just a day before — of the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever discovered.
Among those queuing to see the artefacts was Allison Buckley, 47, from Stafford. “It is almost as exciting as queuing to see the treasures of Tutankhamun,” she said, recalling the rush to see the Egyptian boy king’s death mask in London in 1972. “What makes this so exciting is that it has just been unearthed. There is still soil on the pieces and you can imagine it in the ground.”
Read the rest of this article...
Thursday, 24 September 2009
The Staffordshire Anglo-Saxon Hoard
You can find links to the Staffordshire Hoard Press Pack and to three images at:
http://archaeology.eu.com/anglo-saxon/staffhoard/
http://archaeology.eu.com/anglo-saxon/staffhoard/
Huge Anglo-Saxon gold hoard found
The UK's largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure has been discovered buried beneath a field in Staffordshire.
Experts said the collection of 1,500 gold and silver pieces, which may date back to the 7th Century, was unparalleled in size.
It has been declared treasure by South Staffordshire coroner Andrew Haigh, meaning it belongs to the Crown.
Terry Herbert, who found it on farmland using a metal detector, said it "was what metal detectorists dream of".
Read the rest of this article...
Experts said the collection of 1,500 gold and silver pieces, which may date back to the 7th Century, was unparalleled in size.
It has been declared treasure by South Staffordshire coroner Andrew Haigh, meaning it belongs to the Crown.
Terry Herbert, who found it on farmland using a metal detector, said it "was what metal detectorists dream of".
Read the rest of this article...
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure
The most significant hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever found will be unveiled at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery on Thursday September 24th at 11.30pm.
A number of artefacts will be available to view with experts on hand to provide analysis.
The hoard has already been labelled 'as significant if not more so' than the world famous Sutton Hoo find (1939)
For more information, please visit www.birminghamnewsroom.com or contact Geoff Coleman on 0121 303 3501 or by email geoffrey.coleman@birmingham.gov.uk
Birmingham City Council Press Office
A number of artefacts will be available to view with experts on hand to provide analysis.
The hoard has already been labelled 'as significant if not more so' than the world famous Sutton Hoo find (1939)
For more information, please visit www.birminghamnewsroom.com or contact Geoff Coleman on 0121 303 3501 or by email geoffrey.coleman@birmingham.gov.uk
Birmingham City Council Press Office
Monday, 21 September 2009
Kirkleatham Museum to display jewels from Cleveland grave of Anglo-Saxon princess
An "unparalleled" hoard of gold jewellery found next to the body of an Anglo-Saxon princess in a secret Teesside Royal burial field will be revealed to the public with a £275,000 Lottery-funded display.
The precious haul of fine pieces were placed in the grave on a decorated wooden bed in the second half of the seventh century, and are thought to have belonged to members of the Northumbrian royal family.
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The precious haul of fine pieces were placed in the grave on a decorated wooden bed in the second half of the seventh century, and are thought to have belonged to members of the Northumbrian royal family.
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Ancient skull unearthed on farm
A metal detecting club has unearthed a 7th Century skull and brooch on farmland in South Oxfordshire.
The Weekend Wanderers Metal Detectors Club were holding a rally on land near West Hanney.
Peter Welch from the club said: "The piece is garnet encrusted with what appears to be gold inlay. It must have belonged to somebody of high status"
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The Weekend Wanderers Metal Detectors Club were holding a rally on land near West Hanney.
Peter Welch from the club said: "The piece is garnet encrusted with what appears to be gold inlay. It must have belonged to somebody of high status"
Read the rest of this article...
Hundreds of Saxon graves unearthed on new pub site
A perfectly preserved pair of glass drinking cups was found when the grave of an Anglo-Saxon warrior was unearthed during building work on a new pub, Yourswale reports.
The burial place was one of more than 200 uncovered at a site in Sittingbourne, known as The Meads.
Other findings included swords, spears, shields, decorative beads and other jewellery, as well as fragments of clothing.
Read the rest of this article...
The burial place was one of more than 200 uncovered at a site in Sittingbourne, known as The Meads.
Other findings included swords, spears, shields, decorative beads and other jewellery, as well as fragments of clothing.
Read the rest of this article...
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Online Courses in Archaeology
Cave paintings, castles and pyramids, Neanderthals, Romans and Vikings - archaeology is about the excitement of discovery, finding out about our ancestors, exploring landscape through time, piecing together puzzles of the past from material remains.
Our courses enable you to experience all this through online archaeological resources based on primary evidence from excavations and artefacts and from complex scientific processes and current thinking. Together with guided reading, discussion and activities you can experience how archaeologists work today to increase our knowledge of people and societies from the past.
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Our courses enable you to experience all this through online archaeological resources based on primary evidence from excavations and artefacts and from complex scientific processes and current thinking. Together with guided reading, discussion and activities you can experience how archaeologists work today to increase our knowledge of people and societies from the past.
Read the rest of this article...
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Anglo-Saxon Landscape and Economy: using portable antiquities to study Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age England
In the last fifteen years the role of metal-detected objects in archaeological research has greatly increased through reporting to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) and the Early Medieval Corpus (EMC). There are now thousands more artefacts and coins known than a decade ago which, in conjunction with fieldwork, have the potential to revolutionise our understanding of the early medieval period. This is the first time that these data have been examined on a national scale. Such an approach enables the detailed analysis of the nature of portable antiquities data, the bias within such datasets and the relationship between patterns of recovery and historic settlement (Sections 2 and 3). In the light of these new interpretations of the overall datasets, the most artefact- and coin-rich sites, known as 'productive sites', can be analysed within a new framework of understanding (Section 4).
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Read the rest of this article...
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Amateur archaeologist Basil Brown to be honoured
HE made one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the United Kingdom unearthing priceless treasure which is now displayed in the British Museum.
Among the historical artefacts was the unique discovery of a seventh century ship believed by many to be the grave of an Anglo Saxon king.
But ironically the final resting place of Basil Brown, the man who made the incredible discoveries at Sutton Hoo in 1939, remains a mystery.
Read the rest of this article...
Among the historical artefacts was the unique discovery of a seventh century ship believed by many to be the grave of an Anglo Saxon king.
But ironically the final resting place of Basil Brown, the man who made the incredible discoveries at Sutton Hoo in 1939, remains a mystery.
Read the rest of this article...
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Cambridge yields Anglo-Saxon remains
Archaeological excavations in the central offices of Cambridge University have revealed that the area was occupied by Anglo-Saxons.
The finds include Roman pottery, medieval remains and 11th Century dog bones, which indicate Cambridge was established in the final decades of the Saxon era.
"The site has enabled us to prove what we previously had no proof for - that by the time of the Norman Conquest there was a thriving settlement in the middle of Cambridge," BBC quoted Richard Newman of the Cambridge Archaeological Unit as saying.
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The finds include Roman pottery, medieval remains and 11th Century dog bones, which indicate Cambridge was established in the final decades of the Saxon era.
"The site has enabled us to prove what we previously had no proof for - that by the time of the Norman Conquest there was a thriving settlement in the middle of Cambridge," BBC quoted Richard Newman of the Cambridge Archaeological Unit as saying.
Read the rest of this article...
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Yorkshire treasure stash unearthed after 1,000 years
MORE than a thousand years ago a Saxon thief, desperate to hide his plunder, stashed a hoard of stolen gold in what is today a nondescript West Yorkshire field.
What became of the thief is lost to the ages and his precious loot lay safely buried in that same field for the next millennium.
There it remained until a treasure hunter, out with his trusty metal detector last year, experienced the moment he will never forget when he unearthed the amazing find on the farmland near Leeds.
Read the rest of this article...
What became of the thief is lost to the ages and his precious loot lay safely buried in that same field for the next millennium.
There it remained until a treasure hunter, out with his trusty metal detector last year, experienced the moment he will never forget when he unearthed the amazing find on the farmland near Leeds.
Read the rest of this article...
Ancient burial site found at Boscastle
AN ANCIENT burial site dating from the Dark Ages has been discovered at Boscastle during work to create a new waste water scheme for the area.
A pagan and Christian cemetery, including at least 18 graves, was unearthed during the setting up of a compound.
The discovery prompted South West Water (SWW) to call in experts to help understand the significance of the find.
Experts said the particular type of graves found were extremely rare.
Read the rest of this article...
A pagan and Christian cemetery, including at least 18 graves, was unearthed during the setting up of a compound.
The discovery prompted South West Water (SWW) to call in experts to help understand the significance of the find.
Experts said the particular type of graves found were extremely rare.
Read the rest of this article...
Sunday, 14 June 2009
Students unearth Saxon nunnery
Archaeologists believe they could have found the first-ever excavated Saxon nunnery, on a dig in Gloucestershire.
The annual dig, by the University of Bristol, has unearthed remains of a Saxon building in the grounds of the Edward Jenner Museum, Berkeley.
The Berkeley Project to find Saxon Berkeley and the missing nunnery has been going for five years.
Read the rest of this article...
The annual dig, by the University of Bristol, has unearthed remains of a Saxon building in the grounds of the Edward Jenner Museum, Berkeley.
The Berkeley Project to find Saxon Berkeley and the missing nunnery has been going for five years.
Read the rest of this article...
Frühmittelalterliche Sonnenuhr aus dem Neusser Kloster St. Quirin
Eine Sonnenuhr des 9.-10. Jahrhunderts aus dem ehemaligen Kloster St. Quirin in Neuss konnte jetzt anhand von archäologischen Fragmenten rekonstruiert und nachgebaut werden. Bislang sind in Europa nur sehr wenige Uhren aus dieser Zeit bekannt geworden.
Die drei Kalksteinbruchstücke des Zeitmessers wurden in den 1960er Jahren bei Ausgrabungen auf dem ehemaligen Klosterareal entdeckt und ursprünglich für römische Spolien gehalten. Erst kürzlich konnten sie als Teile einer hochmittelalterlichen Sonnenuhr identifiziert werden. Die Ausgrabungen, die seinerzeit auf dem Gelände um das Kloster und spätere Stift St. Quirin durchgeführt wurden, werden derzeit in einem Forschungsprojekt des Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie und Provinzialrömische Archäologie der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München am LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn ausgewertet.
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Die drei Kalksteinbruchstücke des Zeitmessers wurden in den 1960er Jahren bei Ausgrabungen auf dem ehemaligen Klosterareal entdeckt und ursprünglich für römische Spolien gehalten. Erst kürzlich konnten sie als Teile einer hochmittelalterlichen Sonnenuhr identifiziert werden. Die Ausgrabungen, die seinerzeit auf dem Gelände um das Kloster und spätere Stift St. Quirin durchgeführt wurden, werden derzeit in einem Forschungsprojekt des Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie und Provinzialrömische Archäologie der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München am LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn ausgewertet.
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Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Wearmouth-Jarrow Nomination For World Heritage Site
The twin Anglo-Saxon monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow in northeast England will be the UK’s nomination for World Heritage Site status in 2010. The monastery, which functioned as ‘one monastery in two places’, is centred on St Peter’s Church in Wearmouth, Sunderland and St Paul’s Church in Jarrow.
Wearmouth-Jarrow was a major international centre of learning and culture in the 7th and 8th centuries. Its most famous inhabitant, the Venerable Bede, was the greatest scholar of his day and the impact of his writings is still felt in the 21st century. Original and rare 7th-century architectural and archaeological remains of the monastery survive at both Wearmouth and Jarrow.
Read the rest of this article...
Wearmouth-Jarrow was a major international centre of learning and culture in the 7th and 8th centuries. Its most famous inhabitant, the Venerable Bede, was the greatest scholar of his day and the impact of his writings is still felt in the 21st century. Original and rare 7th-century architectural and archaeological remains of the monastery survive at both Wearmouth and Jarrow.
Read the rest of this article...
Saturday, 6 June 2009
The Saxons were coming! A tiny sword stud found under a shop rewrites Welsh history
AT BARELY a centimetre across and almost unrecognisable after centuries underground, it may not look much, but could shed light on an almost unknown era of Welsh history.
The discovery of a sword stud beneath shops in Monmouth, made public for the first time in today’s Western Mail, could be evidence of an Anglo-Saxon period settlement.
But now there are concerns the site where it was found may be destroyed by development.
Read the rest of this article...
The discovery of a sword stud beneath shops in Monmouth, made public for the first time in today’s Western Mail, could be evidence of an Anglo-Saxon period settlement.
But now there are concerns the site where it was found may be destroyed by development.
Read the rest of this article...
Thursday, 4 June 2009
The Viking and Anglo-Saxon Landscape and Economy (VASLE) Project
In the last fifteen years the role of metal-detected objects in the study of Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Scandinavian England has greatly increased through reporting to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) and the Early Medieval Corpus (EMC). There are now thousands more artefacts and coins known than a decade ago which, in conjunction with fieldwork, have the potential to revolutionise our understanding of the early medieval period.
Read the rest of this article...
Read the rest of this article...
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Top Saxon experts visit the museum
NATIONAL experts on Anglo-Saxon England were in Whitby recently.
The Anglo-Saxon weekend was organised by Jo Heron, secretary of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, Christiane Kroebel, and Chair Dr Gill Cookson.
Dr Cookson told the Gazette that the weekend had been a great success with people travelling from all over the country to attend.
Read the rest of this article...
The Anglo-Saxon weekend was organised by Jo Heron, secretary of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, Christiane Kroebel, and Chair Dr Gill Cookson.
Dr Cookson told the Gazette that the weekend had been a great success with people travelling from all over the country to attend.
Read the rest of this article...
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