Æthelflæd: the Lady of the Mercians

She was a queen in all but name, but Aethelflaed, the daughter of Alfred the Great, is barely mentioned in contemporary chronicles of the Anglo-Saxon era. Writer Jonny Wilkes wonders whether England owes more to her than to her famous father

When Æthelflæd was a baby her father Alfred, destined for greatness, became King of Wessex. At around 16 years old, she was married to the Lord of the Mercians and so placed next to the seat of power of a neighbouring Anglo-Saxon kingdom. In her 20s, she helped to build a string of fortifications and patronise churches; in her 30s, she took up the mantle of ruling in place of her indisposed husband and defeated the Vikings in battle; and in her 40s, on her husband’s death, Æthelflæd was chosen to lead above all male contenders.

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New delay for Cork Events Centre as Danes say ancient deeds prove Vikings own site

Events Centre - Under new management?

Cork's long-delayed Events Centre has been hit by yet another hold-up as the Danish Government claims ownership of the city centre site on behalf of its former Viking owners.

The Danish culture ministry last week alerted their Government about the discovery of ancient land deeds, in the University of Copenhagen archives, which they say "prove" ownership of most of Cork City centre.

Academics at the university say the 11th Century land titles, made out to King Wulf Hardasson, clearly state that the Viking king and his rightful heirs shall lay claim to the "Great Marsh of Munster" in perpetuity.

And as the deeds were never legally dissolved after the last vikings left their settlement in Cork, the site where the long-delayed Events Centre was supposed to be built is still - legally - the property of any living descendants of the last Viking ruler of Cork.

The Danish embassy in Dublin has now lodged a formal claim with the Department of Arts, Heritage and Culture and Irish officials believe this could lead to a very lengthy legal battle with the living heirs of King Wulf Hardasson.

One Departmental official told CorkBeo; "They're saying they've traced his only living male heir, he's a plumber called Lars Sorenson who lives in Aalborg. The Danes are arguing that as the deeds were never dissolved, technically, this guy is the Viking overlord of most of Cork City."

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Virtual Visits to Sites and Museums

Self-isolating and bored?

You can find a list of Virtual Visits to Sites and Museums at:

http://emas-archaeology.org/useful-websites/virtual-visits-to-sites-and-museums/

to help you pass the time.

New Sutton Hoo Movie Rights the Wrongs of Archaeological Snobbery

The new Sutton Hoo movie, called The Dig, that is due to be released on Netflix is going to tell the real story behind one of Britain’s greatest archaeological discoveries. It dramatizes the excavation at Sutton Hoo in England that changed our understanding of the history of Europe in the Dark Ages . It will also address a decades-old injustice and finally gives credit to the amateur archaeologist who was behind the historic discovery.

The movie focuses on the discoveries made at Sutton Hoo in Eastern England, by a self-taught archaeologist, Basil Brown, who was born near Ipswich in 1888. He had been a farmer, milkman and woodcutter, before securing a job with Ipswich Museum. Brown was poor and had no formal education in archaeology, but he had made some important historical finds in previous years. Brown was a simple country fellow and often used string to hold up his work pants.

Sutton Hoo Movie Tells Story of Eccentric Genius
In 1938 a local widow by the name of Edith Pretty asked Ipswich Museum to excavate some 18 mounds on her land. These were well-known to locals and were the source of many legends. The museum sent out Brown, who was the only person available to investigate the site and he was later helped by Mrs. Pretty’s gardener and gamekeeper.

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British Museum says metal detectorists found 1,311 treasures last year

A Roman Britain coin, known as a radiate, found in Headbourne Worthy in Hampshire. 

Photograph: British Museum

An astonishingly well-preserved medieval brooch featuring what could be dragon and dog decorations is among a record number of objects discovered last year by the nation’s army of metal detectorists.

The British Museum on Tuesday announced that 1,311 finds which are defined as treasure had been found by members of the public across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2019.

They also included an iron age drinking set, a solid gold bronze age arm ring and a coin which helps tell the story of Carausius, a usurper emperor who in 286AD broke Britain away from Europe, in an adventure which ended badly.

Michael Lewis, the head of the British Museum’s portable antiquities scheme, said the 1,100-year-old brooch discovered in Norfolk was a particularly striking and rare discovery.

“It is an amazing example of Anglo-Saxon art of the period,” he said. “When the finder found it the reaction was, is this old? It could be something more modern which was inspired by the past. Your gut reaction might be that it was Victorian.”

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Science Notes – Early medieval insights from birch bark tar

Ceramic vessel 1112 from Ringlemere; the interior was coated in a black residue that contained birch bark tar. [Image: © Trustees of the British Museum]

Birch bark tar (manufactured by the heating of bark in airtight conditions) has long been prized for its sticky, water resistant, and biocidal properties. Throughout human history it has seen a wide range of uses, including as a sealant (for example, in waterprooing vessels), an adhesive (for hafting weapons, repairing ceramics, or assembling composite objects like jewellery), and in perfume and medicine.

Archaeological evidence demonstrates that our predecessors were making this substance as far back as the Palaeolithic (the earliest discovery dates back c.185,000-135,000 years), and its use has continued into the modern day in eastern and northern Europe. In western Europe and Britain, though, it has been generally believed that its use was limited to prehistory, with birch bark tar being displaced by pine tars during the Roman period. As we will explore during this month’s Science Notes, though, the identification of birch bark tar at two early medieval sites in the east of England indicates that this technology was in use much later here than was previously believed.

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Remains of Anglo-Saxon princess who could be the Queen’s earliest known relative discovered by scientists in Kent

Eanswythe, the daughter of King Eadbald, is believed to have founded England’s first nunnery before her life was cut short, likely as a result of bubonic plague

An Anglo-Saxon princess who was one of England’s earliest Christian saints has been identified by scientists in a church in Kent.

Some historical evidence suggests that she may be the present Queen’s earliest known relative whose remains have so far been identified.

Dating from the mid-seventh century AD, the princess was the daughter of King Eadbald (literally “the prosperous one”), the ruler of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kent, who was that micro-country’s monarch from 616 (or 618) to 640.

Parts of the Kentish royal dynasty’s lineage are unclear but some interpretations of their genealogy suggests that he was the present Queen’s 40th great grandfather.

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Bones found in Kent church likely to be of 7th-century saint

Researchers examine the remains at St Mary and St Eanswythe’s church in Folkestone. 

Photograph: Mark Hourahane/Diocese of Canterbury/PA

Bones discovered more than a century ago in a Kent church are almost certainly the remains of an early English saint who was the granddaughter of Ethelbert, the first English king to convert to Christianity, experts have concluded.

Saint Eanswythe, the patron saint of the coastal town of Folkestone, is thought to have founded one of the first monastic communities in England, probably around AD660. She died a few years later, while still in her teens or early 20s.

In 1885, workers renovating the parish church of St Mary and St Eanswythe close to Folkestone harbour found a lead container of human remains in an alcove – probably hidden to avoid the destruction of relics during the Reformation.

The bones, which comprised about half of a skeleton, were assumed to belong to Eanswythe. But it was not until January this year, following a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, that a team of experts set up a temporary laboratory in the church, which was closed for five days.

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There are still a very few places available on the EMAS study tour to Orkney

EMAS Study Tour to Orkney

14 – 23 April 2020

Guide: David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scot

The 2020 EMAS spring study tour will be to Orkney. We will travel by coach from Baker Street, London stopping overnight at Middlesbrough and Inverness and visiting archaeological sites on the way.

We will be based in Kirkwall, and will visit sites on Orkney Mainland and the islands of Egilsay, Rousay and Wyre. The sites that we will visit include Maes Howe, Skara Brae, Midhowe Broch, the Brough of Birsay, Cubbie Roo’s Castle, the Earl’s Palace at Birsay and Kirkwall Cathedral.

Further information...

Ancient Viking Glass Artifact Was A Game Piece Of The Elites

A tiny glass crown is being heralded as a rare archaeological artifact from the first wave of Viking raids in England.

The small worked glass artifact was unearthed at an excavation site on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne , a tidal island situated off the northeast coast of England in Northumberland. Crafted from swirling blue and white glass with white glass bobbles, a report in The Times says archaeologists believe the crown was a gaming piece from the strategy board game  hnefatafl (king’s table) played in Britain, Ireland, and Scandinavia before the arrival of chess in the 12th century.

A Glass Artifact With Elite Origins
The relic, which is no bigger than a grape, is described as being “of exquisite workmanship” showing influence from across the North Sea and if it is indeed a hnefatafl gaming piece it is a rare archaeological treasure linking the English island with the Vikings at the beginning of a turbulent period in English and Scandinavian history.

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Board-game piece from period of first Viking raid found on Lindisfarne

The piece of worked glass unearthed during an excavation on Lindisfarne. 

Photograph: Jeff Veitch

Small glass ‘crown’ thought to be rare archaeological link to first Norse raiders

It is not large – the shape and size of a chocolate sweet – and might easily have been discarded as a pebble by a less careful hand.

But a tiny piece of worked glass unearthed during an excavation on Lindisfarne has been revealed to be a rare archaeological treasure linking the Northumbrian island with the Vikings, from the very beginning of one of the most turbulent periods in English history.

Archaeologists believe the object, made from swirling blue and white glass with a small “crown” of white glass droplets, is a gaming piece from the Viking board game Hnefatafl, or a local version of the game.

Whether dropped on the island by a Norse raider or owned by a high-status local imitating their customs, the gaming piece offers a rare tangible link between Lindisfarne’s Anglo-Saxon monastery and the culture that eventually overwhelmed it.

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1,300-Year-Old Saxon Coin Found by Treasure Hunter Rewrites English History

An English metal detectorist has found a rare coin proving old London did not fall to the West Saxons until later than currently thought.

Buried about four inches deep, Andy Hall, 55, found the 1,300-year-old coin in January of 2016 on Wiltshire farmland at Coombe Bisset, to the southwest of Salisbury in  England. While the artifact’s authenticity had been doubted, with even the finder suspecting that it may have been a contemporary forgery, or what he calls a “19th century fantasy piece,” scientific tests on the silver coin have confirmed it is “95% per cent silver,” which is consistent with coins of the time.

Dating of The Fall Of London Challenged
The controversy arises because the rare silver piece depicts the face of the Saxon king Ludica of Mercia who ruled for just one year from 826–827 AD. This little known Saxon king, Ludica, who ruled the kingdom that included London, or 'Lundenwic' as it was called at the time, challenges the mainstream historical theory that London had fallen to the Wessex King Ecgberht after the Battle of Ellendun in 825 AD.

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The ghostly treasure ship of Sutton Hoo

Silver bowl from Sutton Hoo. Seventh century, British Museum, London

PHOTOGRAPH BY ULLSTEIN BILD, CORDON PRESS

In 1939 a series of mounds at Sutton Hoo in England revealed their astounding contents: the remains of an Anglo-Saxon funerary ship and a huge cache of seventh-century royal treasure.

IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND near the Suffolk coast lies a stretch of sandy heathland dotted by mysterious mounds of earth. Inspiring strange tales and superstitions among local people, these barrows charmed newlyweds Frank and Edith Pretty, who purchased the property, known as Sutton Hoo, in 1926.

The couple made their home at Sutton Hoo for nearly nine years until Frank’s untimely death in late 1934. Edith continued to live there, and she grew increasingly curious about the barrows on her property. A lifelong fascination with the occult had led her, like many wealthy women of her time, to consult spiritualists in London. Some say that after her husband’s death, her interest in spiritualism grew and even expanded to include the barrows on her property. Disputed accounts even describe Edith as having a vision of a ghostly procession passing through the mounds near her house. Whatever the true cause, she decided in 1937 to have the land excavated and approached a museum in nearby Ipswich to discuss it.

What lies beneath
Self-taught archaeologist Basil Brown worked as an excavation assistant at the museum and took on Edith’s project. His decision to take the job not only would change his life but also radically alter, and deepen, the understanding scholars had of the early Anglo-Saxon period in England following the collapse of Roman rule.

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'Lost' Anglo-Saxon monastery discovered. It might be where England's first king was coronated.

The Abbey at Bath has a spectacular facade.

(Image: © Wessex Archaeology)

Edgar the Peaceful may have been coronated here more than 1,000 years ago.

Newly unearthed remains may come from the monastery where England's first king, Edgar the Peaceful, was coronated more than 1,000 years ago, according to Wessex Archaeology, an archaeological company and charity in England. 

The so-called smoking gun emerged during an excavation at the famous Bath Abbey, ahead of planned renovations there. During the excavation, archaeologists were surprised to find hints of Anglo-Saxon architecture in two structures next to the abbey.

These are the first known Anglo-Saxon structures in all of Bath, a city that was founded by the Roman Empire and that is known for its thermal hot springs. The two apsidal (semicircular) structures, or apses, were found below street level, underneath what once made up the cloisters of the 12th-century cathedral built over Romano-British deposits. The cathedral is just south of the abbey church.

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'Anglo-Saxon' skeletons found on Buckingham care home site

The site where the bodies were discovered is next to the cemetery in Buckingham

A number of "unusual burials" including skeletons with hands tied behind their backs have been discovered on the site of a planned care home.

The bodies were uncovered during excavations ahead of work at West End Farm, on Brackley Road in Buckingham.

It is believed about 40 bodies were found in December as first reported in the MK Citizen.

Historian Ed Grimsdale said he believed they were Anglo-Saxon and it could be "one of the biggest finds" of its kind.

Buckinghamshire County Archaeology Service said it was waiting for results of the post-excavation analysis.

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Anglo-Saxon Abbey where Lusty King Edgar was Crowned, Found!

Excavations of the possible Anglo-Saxon abbey at Bath Abbey. ( Wessex Archaeology )

Bath Abbey was always thought of as having been located upon a much earlier Anglo-Saxon monastery, but no evidence was ever found to support this idea. However, two structures were discovered during primary renovation works as part of Bath Abbey’s £19.3 million (25.2 million USD) Footprint project and a team of archaeologists from Wessex Archaeology discovered to the south of the modern-day Abbey what a Daily Mail article describes as “Semi-circular relics dating to between the 8th and 10th century AD.”

Plaster samples taken from the remains tested positive for charcoal and they were sent to Queen's University, Belfast for radiocarbon dating, which determined they were from “AD 780-970 and AD 670-770”. These results are why the researchers believe they might have found the site of King Edgar's coronation - Bath's lost Anglo-Saxon monastery . And speaking of the discovery to the Daily Mail the Reverend Canon Guy Bridgewater at Bath Abbey said this is a “really exciting find.”

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Lincoln Cathedral: Medieval priest's items 'rare find'

The priest was buried alongside a pewter chalice and paten, which is a plate made of gold or silver

Image copyrightALLEN ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeologists have described the discovery of the remains of a medieval priest buried alongside "key symbols of his work" as a significant "rare find".

The find was one of more than 50 burials unearthed during renovation works at Lincoln Cathedral.

Archaeologist Natasha Powers said the priest was buried with a pewter chalice and paten - a gold or silver plate.

He believed his tools would provide proof on Judgement Day that he had performed his duties, she said.

Ms Powers said since work started in 2016 they had discovered "significant evidence" of Lincoln's medieval, Saxon and Roman past.

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Archaeologists search for the grave of St. Edmund under tennis courts

Travellight - Shutterstock

Renovation of the Abbey Gardens tennis courts has led to an effort to study the historical site.

Amidst the celebration of the 1,000th anniversary of the foundation of the Abbey of St. Edmund in the town of Bury St. Edmund’s, an archaeological study of the grounds has led to excitement about the possible discovery of the resting place of St. Edmund, the first patron saint of England.
Aleteia’s own John Burger explains why we know so little about St. Edmund’s final resting place:

England’s former patron saint, who ruled the Anglo-Saxon realm of East Anglia between 855 and 869, is thought to have been captured and killed by Danish or Viking raiders in 869. According to the East Anglian Daily Times, his remains were kept in a shrine in Bury. But the Benedictine Abbey there was dissolved during King Henry VIII’s reign, and Edmund’s remains were lost.

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Melton Mowbray building site bones date back to 7th Century

The bones were discovered on a building site in Melton Mowbray

NEMM.CO.UK

Human bones found on a building site have been found to date back to the 7th Century.

Police were called and construction was stopped when the remains were discovered off Scalford Road in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, in October.

A forensic examination was carried out to determine how long the bones had been in the ground.

Carbon dating has dated them to 635 to 685 AD. They have now been handed over to an archaeology firm.

The bones were found at a site during the construction of a new retirement village.

Leicestershire Police said the bones are being passed to Cotswold Archaeology Ltd "for further research to be carried out into the finding".

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New archaeological discoveries reveal birch bark tar was used in medieval England

Skeleton from grave 293, Anglo-Saxon child burial

[Credit: Oxford Archaeology East]

Scientists from the University of Bristol and the British Museum, in collaboration with Oxford Archaeology East and Canterbury Archaeological Trust, have, for the first time, identified the use of birch bark tar in medieval England - the use of which was previously thought to be limited to prehistory.

Birch bark tar is a manufactured product with a history of production and use that reaches back to the Palaeolithic. It is very sticky, and is water resistant, and also has biocidal properties mean that it has a wide range of applications, for example, as a multipurpose adhesive, sealant and in medicine.

Archaeological evidence for birch bark tar covers a broad geographic range from the UK to the Baltic and from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia.

In the east and north of this range there is continuity of use to modern times but in western Europe and the British Isles the use of birch bark tar has generally been viewed as limited to prehistory, with gradual displacement by pine tars during the Roman period.

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