Last July the Yorkshire Museum raised £35,000 to purchase a unique Anglo-Saxon gold and sapphire finger ring. It had been found in April 2009 by a metal detectorist Michael Greenhorn, a railway technician who is also member of the York and District Metal Detecting Club. The find was reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme and declared treasure.
Sapphires were associated with high status like royalty, upper nobility or bishops. The find is so rare that there is literally nothing to compare it with, so that dating of the ring represents some difficulty. The gold beading is characteristic for the Viking period but red and blue glass set in gold is found in earlier Anglian jewelry. It is possible that at some stage sapphire was used to replace blue glass to create a unique and expensive ring for the archbishop of York, one of the earls of Northumbria or even a king. The museum launched an investigation to find stylistic parallels in other pieces of Anglo-Saxon jewelry and narrow down the age range. No less interesting is the geological origin of the sapphire itself. It may have come from India or Sri Lanka.
The only other sapphire found in a jewel of the Anglo-Saxon period is the coronation ring of Edward the Confessor. The gemstone from this ring is now part of the Imperial State Crown of Great Britain, at the center of the cross on top of the crown.
The gold used for the ring is of a very high standard. It is an alloy of 90% gold, 8% silver and 2% copper. It weighs 10.2 grams.
Hopefully, the Yorkshire Museum will reveal more concerning this rare find in the near future.

Photo: ©independent.co.uk

Bamburgh sword is a rare Anglo-Saxon sword from the seventh century. It once belonged to an Anglo-Saxon king or a member of a royal family. The sword was made up of six individual strands of iron: this technique is known as pattern welding, Babmburgh sword thus being a six pattern-welded sword. Cold weapons of such structure are also called ‘snake patterned’ because of the herring bone appearance created by the forged strands. Six strands or layers of carbon steel forged together made it a perfect weapon: in comparison, Sutton Hoo sword had only four layers. Bamburgh sword is the only one of its kind ever found.
The recovery of the sword is rather peculiar. It was dug out during the first excavation at Bamburgh castle, Northumberland, in 1960. After that it was forgotten in the attic of the broadcaster and archeologist Brian Hope-Taylor who took part in the excavations. After his death in 2001, some of his former PhD students came to his house hearing that his books were being sold off. The sword was going to be dumped in a skip by workers who were clearing the house. It was returned to Bamburgh Castle in 2005, where Paul Gething and Graeme Young were working on the Bamburgh Research Project. It is then that the rare nature of the artifact became known. The sword was sent to the Royal Armouries for further examination.
Discovering such a sword is a unique chance for an archeologist. More excavations at the Bamburgh castle may reveal more details as for this exceptional weapon.

Photo: Bamburgh sword

Sutton Hoo and especially the early medieval helmet discovered there is now the icon of Suffolk. The emblem of the Sutton Hoo helmet will be used in publicity material to highlight what the county is all about. This happened as a result of a poll that had to identify the icon of Suffolk.
The poll was initiated last summer by Choose Suffolk, the body promoting the county as a great place to live and to visit. The Icons Project was inspired by the Cultural Olympiad, which includes a wide range of cultural events anticipating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
To determine the icon of Suffolk, a site was created, where visitors could download pictures and videos of places, scenes, statues, buildings and other things that represent Suffolk for them. The picture of Dani Filth, a death metal singer from Cradle of Filth was downloaded too. To surprise many, it received a huge amount of votes from Dani’s fans.
Sutton Hoo, however, was chosen by the people of Suffolk as the top icon. Brigit Parker from Choose Suffolk, said: “It’s a symbol of national historic importance. If you see that image, the world over, it undoubtedly is something you’d link back to Suffolk. It’s distinctive and representative – something that sends a powerful message.” Suffolk Icons has been awarded a London 2012 Inspire Mark, which recognises outstanding projects that help creating a legacy that will last beyond 2012 Olympic Games.
To be sure, this will help to promote the image of the Anglo-Saxon helmet from Sutton Hoo as a recognizable symbol not only in Suffolk but all over the world.

Photo: Sutton Hoo helmet. Courtesy pettifoggist. Used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic Licence.

In 2008 archeologists excavated an Anglo-Saxon burial ground with 229 graves at The Meads, Sittingbourne. More than 2,500 objects were discovered, including weapons from male burials and beads from female ones. It is a circular silver, bronze and wooden disk with seven holes in it: one in the centre and two groups by three holes positioned according two triangular patterns. In the same grave two shields and two spears were found. Burying two items with someone seems to be unusual practice, which may point to a high status of the grave. Finds manager of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust Andrew Richardson confessed: “We don’t currently recognise it, but it may be a decorative mount on something, but we don’t know what it’s mounted on.” The object was X-rayed, but to no avail. It is reported to be found near a sword, but this does not necessarily mean the two are associated with each other. What might have been the use and the purpose of the disk? Archeologists cannot solve this riddle, since no parallel is known. It is also possible that this is a one-off item, which will never be identified. Æscwine (aka John Wills) from Ða Engliscan Gesiðas (The English Companions) discussion group forum suggested the following solution: the disk could be a part of a belt pouch. The pouch was similar to the Sutton Hoo purse, with a “hard lid” and a soft bag behind. If the lid was made of a thin sheet of wood, covered with leather, the4 disk could be fitted to the front of the lid. The three holes might have thongs woven through them. Coming out through the centre hole, they served as a fastener. Three other holes were for the rivets fastening the disk to the lid.
What do you think about it? Help identify the mysterious Anglo-Saxon object from The Meads Anglo-Saxon grave or work out its function!

Photo: The Meads disk.

The archeological site at the Gaer Farm (close to Offa’s Dyke at Forden, near Welshpool) was identified back in 1985. Preliminary excavations and aerial photographs revealed a post-Roman settlement, but a proper investigation did not take place until August 2010, when a team from Cambrian Archaeological Projects started an excavation on what seems to be a fifth-century Saxon palace. Both the strategic border location and the magnitude of the building, which is 40m long and 15m wide, point to the fact that this had been a royal residence.Project leader Mark Houliston said it was difficult to date the site, but there are reasons to believe that it is from the Anglo-Saxon period. CAP director Kevin Blockley said that this Saxon timber long house could be a palace of the prince of Wales, a local king or a bishop. He also commented: “We know that West Mercia invaded this part of Wales in 823AD and took over a large area until 863AD. But we plan to carbon-date the charcoal at the site to find out the exact date of the building.” The palace might have looked like a very large barn with a hearth in the centre. Its walls were covered with wattle and daub, the roof was thatched. Palaces of similar style and shape are known in Cheddar in Somerset, Northumberland and at Northampton, but the only other Saxon site in Wales is a burgh at Rhuddlan. This discovery is said to be of national importance.

Photo: aerial view of Gaer Farm archeological site.

In the summer of 2010 at Ludham, near Great Yarmouth on the River Ant between Horning Hall and Browns Hill workmen unearthed a log boat during flood defence work. The boat made from a solid piece of oak was 2.2 m down in the silt clay. As it was damaged by the digger, the work was stopped so that archeologists could examine it. Radiocarbon dates, which were announced in November 2010, showed that the layer below the boat is from AD 650 to AD 780, and the layer above the boat is from AD 890 to AD 1020 (dendrochronological data that can give a more accurate estimation are not available as yet). Thus the boat dates from the Anglo-Saxon period. Near the boat that could carry up to three people five horse and sheep skulls were found, which may point to the fact that the vessel might have been used in some sort of a ritual. The boat was transported to York in order to undergo special treatment to preserve it. Hopefully, the two pieces of this exceptional find can be fitted together so that the Anglo-Saxon boat might become a central exhibit at Norwich Castle Museum. To find an ancient boat in such a preserved state is a rare chance. To be sure, it will help us to learn more about everyday life during the Anglo-Saxon period.

Photo: River Ant boat. By Nigel Pope. Used with permission.

The first armed conflict of Hengest and Horsa with Vortigern took place in 455. About the same time Horsa was killed in battle, while Hengest carried war on the Britons. By 473 he founded the first Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the kingdom of Kent. His successors were Esc, Octa and Eormenric of Kent (relationships in this line of kings and exact dates of their rule are not clear).
The next stage of the conquest was led by the Saxon war-lord Ælle, who landed with his three sons on the Sussex shore in 477. In 491 he besieged and took the shore fort Anderida. Bede mentions Ælle as the king over all the provinces south of the river Humber. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle lists Ælle as the first of the eight bretawaldas (a term that designated “rulers of Britain”), which may indicate that the king of the South Saxons was recognized as the ruler by other Anglo-Saxon leaders.
Wessex was founded in 495 by Cerdic, who landed in Hampshire “in three keels”. The Chronicle also attributes to Cerdic the conquest of the Isle of Wight, which was later given to West Saxons Stuf and Wihtgar. Cerdic was succeeded by his son Cynric.
During the first half of the 6th century Anglo-Saxons extended their lands westward and northward, but their efforts did not prove very successful, despite the arrival of new Anglo-Saxon armies from the continent. Between 490 and 517 Anglo-Saxons were defeated by the Britons at the Battle of Mount Badon. The Celts were able to unite against them and delay the advance of invaders for some time.
The onslaught of the Anglo-Saxons was recommenced in the second half of the 6th century. In 571 and 577 three kings of Britons were killed, Gloucester, Cirencester and Bath were captured. During 584–592 the Celts were completely defeated in Wiltshire. By the beginning of the 7th century Anglo-Saxon conquest of the south-western and central parts of Britain was accomplished.
At least twelve early Anglo-Saxon kingdoms existed at the period. On the eastern coast there lay the kingdom of Lindsey, comprising the lands between the Humber and the Wash; the kingdom of the East Angles, which consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk; the kingdom of Essex and the kingdom of Kent. The kingdom of Sussex was on the southern coast. Northern part of the central England was divided between Mercia and Middle Anglia. To the south, along the border with Wales, two small kingdoms were situated: Magonsætan and Hwicce. The largest early Anglo-Saxon kingdom was Wessex, the kingdom of the West Saxons. Northern territories were later known as Northumberland or lands to the north of the Humber. At times Northumberland was divided into Bernicia and Deira.
These kingdoms, once created, waged war against each other until the first half of the 9th century. This period of the Anglo-Saxon history is known as the Age of Heptarchy.

Incursions of Germanic warriors into Britain started late in the 4th century, during the Migration Period in Europe. Roman authors called them Saxons, but they certainly were divided into multiple ethnic groups. According to Bede the Venerable, armies of the invaders comprised representatives of the “three most powerful Germanic peoples” of the time: Angles, Saxons and Jutes. In the 6th century Procopius of Caesarea wrote that Britain was “inhabited by Angles, Frisians and Britons, each with their own king.” This testimony is supported by linguistics, since Old English and Old Frisian are closely related. Modern researchers believe that a wider range of Germanic peoples, including Franks, actually moved to Britain at the time.
Angles as a people are first mentioned by Tacitus, who names them among seven tribes who worshipped Nerthus or Earth Mother in an insular sanctuary. The description suggests the idea of coastal regions, but it is unclear whether the North or Baltic Sea is implied. Ptolemaeus locates the Angles to the west of the middle Elbe. In the Anglo-Saxon oral tradition, as reflected in the poem Widsith (written down in the 9th century), king Offa marks the border of his kingdom at the mouth of the Eider river. All this points to the southern part of the Jutland (Cimbrian) Peninsula as the original home of the Angles.
According to Bede, Jutes inhabited the lands that lay to the north of the Angles. As for the Saxons, Tacitus does not mention them, while Ptolemaeus reports that their home was at the isthmus of the Jutland Peninsula.
As it seems, by the 3rd century Saxons moved southward and merged with Chauci. Along with the Frisians they occupied all the territory between the Elbe and the Weser, so that Romans had to enforce their fleet in the English Channel to stop Saxon piracy in the coastal waters. Eleven fortresses were erected from the Wash to White Island, on both sides of the Channel, which were called the Saxon Shore (Litus Saxonicum per Britanniam). It was led by the Count of the Saxon Shore (Comes Litoris Saxonici).
When Roman legions left, the local population proved to be defenceless. Under constant attacks of Scots and Picts a king of Britons named Vortigern invited two Anglo-Saxon leaders, brothers Hengest and Horsa, to serve as mercenaries. This was the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon invasion.

The power of Romans in Britain first weakened early in the 4th century. The main reason was economic crisis. Moreover, along the usual incursions of Scots and Picts, fierce attacks by Saxons, Attacotti, and Franks worsened the situation. Romano-British population was overwhelmed by the extraordinary conspiracy of the barbarians who acted in concert. In 367 a joint raid of Celts and Anglo-Saxons devastated the country, after the Roman garrison on Hadrian’s Wall rebelled and let Picts into Britannia. Nearly all Roman outposts and settlements fell into the hands of the invaders. Rome sent Theodosius the Elder, who was able to restore order.
However, in 383 a rebellion broke again. It was led by Magnus Maximus, who served under Theodosius. This Maximus has a lot in common with the main character of Gladiator, a 2000 historical epic by Ridley Scott. Like Maximus Decimus Meridius from the movie, Magnus Maximus was a Spaniard and a distinguished general of the Roman army. He as well challenged the emperor and his son was executed (the fate of his wife is uncertain). Strangely enough, Wikipedia article on the Gladiator movie does not cite Magnus Maximus among the historical figures who inspired the protagonist of the film.
Assigned to Britain in 380, Magnus Maximus was proclaimed emperor by the Roman troops in 383. Taking a huge part of the British garrison, Maximus conquered Gaul and later Spain and Africa. It is interesting that he was the first ruler in the history of Christianity at whose order Christians were executed for heresy by other Christians (the civil charge was the practice of magic). The heresy was Priscillianism and the executed were Priscillian and his 6 companions. In 387 Maximus forced the emperor Valentinian II out of Rome, but the next year he was defeated in the Battle of the Save, after which Maximus was killed.
Roman troops remaining in Britain successively elevated three usurpers who were quickly overthrown. The last of them, a common soldier named Constantine, took all Roman soldiers to Gaul in 407. They never came back.
After the legions left Britain, emperor Honorius advised the Romano-British to “look to their own defences”. It was the end of Roman administration. Adventus Saxonum was at hand.

Photo: by rdwr. Used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic Licence.

The Coppergate helmet (York helmet) was found in May 1982 at a site where many Viking Age artifacts had been discovered previously during the archeological excavations. The Anglo-Saxon helmet was right beneath the surface, protected by a brick chimney above. It was created about AD 750-775 but deposited considerably later: the brass decoration was already worn. There are also evidence of using the helmet in battle. Then someone buried it in a wood-lined pit along with a few other objects. It is unclear why such a fine possession was hidden, but it attracted universal attention after it was struck by the claw of a mechanical digger 28 years ago.
After careful excavation and reconstruction the quality craftsmanship of the Coppergate helmet became evident. It was made of iron, with two cheek-plates and a well-preserved mail curtain. Its characteristic feature is a long nose-guard. Both the guard and the edge of eyebrows are richly decorated with brass ornamentation (tests revealed that it contains about 85 percent copper). The framework of the helmet consists of four main elements: a band of iron encircling the head; the brow band to which another band is riveted, running from front to back over the crown; two shorter bands run over the ears. The four spaces between these bands are filled with triangular plates.
The brass strips running from ear to ear and from front to back bear a Latin inscription that reads: IN NOMINE : DNI : NOSTRI : IHV :  SCS : SPS : DI : ET : OMNIBVS : DECEMVS : AMEN : OSHERE : XPI. The last segment of the inscription represents the first three letters in XPICTOC, Christ in Greek. Oshere is an Anglo-Saxon personal name. The initial part of the inscription seems clear: In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and God [the Father]. What follows received various interpretations: …And with all we pray. Amen or: …And to all we say Amen or else: …Let us offer up Oshere to all saints. Amen.
The Coppergate helmet is currently on display at the Castle Museum in York.

Photo: Coppergate (York) helmet. By alh1. Used under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic Licence.