File:Early-Medieval (Anglo-Saxon) Coin, Solidus of Anastasius I (FindID 206741).jpg

English: CURATOR'S REPORT

Early Anglo-Saxon grave assemblages from a ploughed Anglo-Saxon cemetery site.

This is an addenda to Treasure cases 2004T187 and 2006T62.

Description of find

The finds comprise just over 105 objects from the same ploughed-out Anglo-Saxon cemetery as the large and small groups reported previously as Treasure (2004 T187, and 2006 T62 respectively), which have since been acquired by the British Museum.

The numbers given in brackets after the list numbers below refer to the original finds list and gaps in the sequence represent undiagnostic finds that are not included in this report. For the purposes of this report the precious and non-precious metal finds have been recorded in separate sections below: A, precious metal; B, non-precious metal; and C, non-metal. But the non-precious metal objects should also be regarded as potential Treasure by probable original association with objects of precious metal found at the site.

Surface metal analysis conducted at the British Museum identified the approximate silver content of six items of which the metal was visually uncertain, as noted below.

A. PRECIOUS METAL FINDS

i). Gold

1 (117). Gold 6th-century Gallic imitative solidus in the name of Anastasius I (r. AD 491-518, but the coin could possibly post-date the emperor); wt. 4.18 g max. diam. 21mm d/a: 6.
Obv: D N ANASTA-SIVS PP AVG (helmeted, diademed, and cuirassed bust, facing, holding spear and shield). Rev: VICTORA-AAVG(GGAI) (Victory standing, left, holding long cross); mintmark - *//CO(MOB);
ref: MEC 1, no. 343, pl.17

This coin is 'attributed to the Merovingians, c.500-c.580', but this series is notoriously difficult to make close attributions and stylistically similar coins in the British Museum trays are currently also attributed to the Visigoths and the Burgundians) (identification and note by Richard Abdy). The coin possibly represents plough scatter from the nearby 'warrior' grave 69, in which it may have been deposited as a kind of 'Charon's obol' (for the finds from the grave, see Treasure Annual Report 2004, no. 88 K and vii). This was a Continental elite burial rite which only rarely occurs in England; e.g. at Broadstairs, Kent, and possibly at Appledown, Sussex (M. Gaimster, 1992, 'Scandinavian gold bracteates in Britain. Money and media in the Dark Ages', Medieval Archaeology, 36, pp. 1-28, at p. 7). But it would be in keeping with the possible Frankish origin of the occupant of grave 69.

ii). Silver

2 (4). Silver fragment of the bow and part of the semi-circular head-plate of a miniature bow brooch; length, 17 mm; > 95% silver (with some copper, gold and lead); weight, 1.52 g. A semi-circular collet in the centre of the plate contains a tiny fragment of red glass or garnet.
This type of brooch occurs with or without lobes in both Kent and France, e.g. a pair from Giberville, Normandy (C. Pilet et al., 1990, 'Les nécropoles de Giberville (Calvados) fin du Ve. Siècle - fin du VII siècle après J.-C.', Archéologie Médiévale, 20, pp. 3-140, pl. 7: 30, 2).

3 (7). Silver fragment of a square-headed brooch, with traces of gilding, consisting of the hollow-backed bow and the upper end of the foot-plate; length, 35 mm; >90% silver (with some copper, gold and lead); weight, 7.23 g. The bow is indistinctly decorated with panels of close transverse ribbing flanking a median rib and perhaps derives from a continental imitation of a Scandinavian type (cf. brooches from Nordendorf and Darmstadt, Germany (H. Kühn, 1940, Die germanischen Bügelfibeln der Völkerwanderungszeit in der Rheinprovinz, Bonn, pl. 104: 40, 12-13; A. Koch, 1998, Bügelfibeln der Merowingerzeit im westlichen Frankenreich, Mainz, pp. 350-363).

4 (13). Fragment of a silver miniature square-headed brooch with punched decoration; length, 20 mm. Note: it possibly joins a fragment in the first batch of Treasure finds from the site published in the Treasure Annual Report 2004, fig. 88.4 and since acquired by the British Museum (2004 T187, no. 13; BM registration no. 2006,3-5,3).

5 (14). Silver fragment from the foot-plate probably of a miniature square-headed brooch; length, 17 mm; >95% silver (with some copper, gold and lead); weight, 2.42 g.

6 (19). Silver fragment of miniature bow brooch with part of a plain, semi-circular head-plate, bow with mid-rib and top end of an expanding foot-plate remaining; length, 25 mm; >95% silver (with some copper, gold and lead); weight, 1.9 g. It is probably a 5th-6th-century continental 'import', but since the foot is missing it is difficult to assign it to a particular type.

7 (28). Silver fragment of one end of a sword pommel with remains of gilding and borders of nielloed interlocking triangles; three elongated tear-shaped slashes on the shoulder; possibly associated with the sword-ring no. 35 below; length, 26 mm. The pommel is an example of Menghin's mainly Kentish Bifrons-Gilton type (W. Menghin, 1983, Das Schwert im frühen Mittelalter, Stuttgart, pp. 312-15, map 2).

8 (32). One end of a silver sword pommel with two lentoid slashes on the shoulder and traces of gilding; length, 28 mm. The pommel is a further example of Menghin's mainly Kentish Bifrons-Gilton type and the double slashes can be compared with swords from Faversham, Dover and Sarre, Kent (Menghin, op. cit; V.I. Evison, 1967, 'The Dover ring-sword and other sword-rings and beads', Archaeologia, 101, pp. 63-103, pl. 8a and figs. 3i, 4b, and 10d).

9 (35). Silver ring from the pommel of a ring-sword with gilding in grooves on either side and decorated with two rows of punched interlocking triangles round the edge, possibly associated with pommel fragment no. 28 above; diameter, 15 mm.

10 (53). Silver fragment of bow from a brooch, with mid-rib and traces of gilding; length, 18 mm.

11 (55). Silver fragment of one end of the head-plate of a square-headed brooch, with an empty square collet in one corner and remains of animal decoration; length, 25 mm. Note: this is the missing fragment of the brooch reported as part of 2004 T187, which has been acquired by the British Museum (reg. no. 2006,3-5,1; Treasure Annual Report 2004, fig. 88, 1).

12 (57). Silver semi-circular head-plate from a miniature bow brooch decorated with a zigzag ridge and a knob at the top; width, 19 mm. The geometric decoration is typical of the western variant of a southern English type and is similar to a brooch excavated at Chessell Down (K. Parfitt and B. Brugmann, 1997, The Anglo-Saxon Cemetery on Mill Hill, Deal, Kent (Society for Medieval Archaeology, mono. 14), p. 39.

13 (59). Silver terminal from the foot-plate of a small square-headed brooch; tongue-shaped with a raised circular frame decorated with punched triangles projecting along the sides; traces of niello and gilding; length, 23 mm.

14 (64). Silver fragment of the head-plate and bow of a miniature square-headed brooch with a raised border enclosing a quatrefoil scroll and half a circle; length, 24 mm. Note: this fragment joins to the other half of the head-plate reported as part of 2004 T187 and acquired by the British Museum (reg.no. 2006,3-5,4; Treasure Annual Report 2004, fig. 88, 5).

15 (80). Gilded silver bow fragment from a miniature square-headed brooch, with midrib; length, 13 mm.

16 (85). Silver bow of a square-headed brooch with raised oval panel enclosing a face mask and traces of mercury gilding; length, 25 mm; >90% silver (with some copper, gold and lead) and has been mercury gilded; weight, 4.57 g.

17 (104). Silver fragment, roughly trapezoidal and possibly from the head-plate of a square-headed brooch, with double zigzag border along straight edge; length, 14 mm.

18 (109). Silver mushroom-shaped knob with milled collar round the base; height, 14 mm; >90% silver (with some copper, gold and lead); weight, 4.23 g. It is possibly from the head-plate of a brooch of 6th-century, Lombardic type, but the absence of any other fragments of such a brooch from the cemetery cautions against too positive an identification at present.

19 (123). Silver fragment possibly from the foot-plate of a miniature square-headed brooch with a raised S-scroll to one side of a rib decorated with interlocking punched triangles; length, 11 mm.

20 (127). Silver fragment from the centre of the foot-plate of a miniature square-headed brooch, with a raised cross motif; width, 17 mm.

21 (132). Silver fragment of the head-plate and bow of a miniature square-headed brooch decorated with two transverse bars; length, 14 mm.

B. NON-PRECIOUS METAL FINDS, MOSTLY OF COPPER ALLOY

22 (1). High-tin bronze buckle tongue with basal shield; length, 30 mm.

23 (2). Copper-alloy club-shaped buckle tongue; length, 25 mm.

24 (3). Copper-alloy radiate-headed brooch of western Hahnheim type with stubs of five knobs round the head-plate, broad bow and lozenge-shaped foot-plate with traces of chip-carved decoration, the terminal and lateral lobes missing; length, 65 mm. This type of brooch is found mainly in northern France and Belgium and represents a 6th-century Frankish 'import' to Anglo-Saxon England; a fragment of one is known from the Chessell Down cemetery (Koch, op. cit., pp. 200-206, map 16, pls. 29.8 to 31.6).

25 (6). Sheet copper-alloy fragment of vessel (part of no. 72 [82] below?) with remains of repoussé decoration possibly representing a bust and possibly late Roman in date with later re-use; length, 87 mm.

26 (8). Copper-alloy disc with damaged edges and stub of a rivet on the back, possibly from the boss or handle of a shield; diameter, 18 mm.

27 (9). Copper-alloy D-shaped buckle with a tongue with a basal shield; width, 30 mm.

28 (10). Lentoid artefact of sheet copper alloy with a central oblique slot; perhaps from a knife? Length, 25 mm.

29 (12). Copper-alloy buckle plate with two fragments of a stout wire loop; length, 33 mm. The plate is circular and plain with a flanged edge on the back and the stubs of three lugs. It is probably of Frankish origin (cf. an example in the British Museum from the Marne region, France; registration no. ML.3534).

30 (15). Gilded copper-alloy fragment from the centre of a saucer brooch with remains of a central roundel and indistinct ornament including a barred triangular panel; width, 29 mm. It forms part of the same brooch as two fragments from the first batch of Treasure finds from the site published in the Treasure Annual Report 2004, fig. 88.8 and since acquired by the British Museum (2004 T187, nos. 26-7; BM registration no. 2006,3-5,9).

31 (16). Copper-alloy buckle tongue with basal shield; length, 32 mm.

32 (18). Copper-alloy D-shaped buckle loop, one corner broken off; height, 29 mm.

33 (20). Copper-alloy disc-headed rivet with traces of tinning and part of one side missing; probably from the rim or handle of a shield; diameter, 16 mm

34 (21). Tinned copper-alloy club-shaped buckle tongue and hinge-bar; lengths, 24 mm and 18 mm. Also a possible brooch pin and empty collet and one unidentifiable fragment.

35 (22). Copper-alloy buckle tongue with remains of basal shield; length, 29 mm.

36 (23). Copper-alloy oval buckle loop; height, 20 mm.

37 (27). Copper-alloy convex ovoid mount with crudely cast details of a bearded man's head; height, 22 mm.

38 (29). Copper-alloy fragment of a small circular brooch decorated with around four concentric beaded ridges; edges damaged; diameter, 14 mm surviving. It may represent a Frankish 'import' related to a pair of brooches with concentric decoration from Rhenen, Netherlands (H.W. Böhme, 1974, Germanische Grabfunde des 4. bis 5. Jahrhunderts zwischen unterer Elbe und Loire, Munich, pl. 64, 3-4).

39 (30). Fragment of iron buckle loop inlaid with keystone-shaped garnets on grid-patterned foils, possibly joining no. 93 below; length, 30 mm. It is a Frankish 'import' dating to the early 6th century and can be compared with buckles from Caours and Barleux, Somme, France (D. Bayard et al. 1986, La Picardie, berceau de la France, Amiens, figs. 70 and 91).

40 (31). Tinned copper-alloy hook end of a buckle tongue; length, 22 mm.

41 (34). Copper-alloy disc-headed rivet, probably from the rim or handle of a shield, with traces of tinning; edges damaged; width, 22 mm.

42 (36a). Fragment of copper-alloy miniature square-headed brooch consisting of the head and the top end of the bow, with traces of gilding and decorated with four vertical bars in a central rectangle; length, 15 mm. A similar example was found at the Chessell Down cemetery (C.J. Arnold, 1982, The Anglo-Saxon Cemeteries of the Isle of Wight, London, fig. 26, 17).

43 (36b). Copper-alloy oval buckle loop; height, 25 mm.

44 (37). Copper-alloy fragment of a buckle tongue with a basal square with an empty(?) circular setting; length, 23 mm. It is comparable with Visigothic buckles, e.g. from Majazala, Spain, examples of which also occur in France (H. Zeiss, 1934, Die Grabfunde aus dem spanischen Westgotenreich, Berlin/Leipzig, pl. 9, 1).

45 (38). Copper-alloy fragment of a strap-end with incised saltire and double lines across wide end; length, 23 mm surviving.

46 (41). Copper-alloy buckle tongue with basal shield; tip missing; length, 29 mm.

47 (42). Copper-alloy brooch fragment, circular with central boss and projection on one side; traces of gilding; diameter, 9mm.

48 (43). Copper-alloy fragment of buckle tongue; length, 18 mm surviving.

49 (44). Copper-alloy fragment of buckle loop; length, 19 mm.

50 (45). Copper-alloy head-plate and bow of a miniature square-headed brooch with milled frame round a central panel of vertical bars; traces of gilding; length, 23 mm.

51 (46). Copper-alloy buckle tongue with basal shield; length, 37 mm.

52 (47). Copper-alloy buckle tongue with basal shield; length, 34 mm.

53 (48). Copper-alloy buckle tongue, club-shaped; length, 23 mm.

54 (50). Copper-alloy buckle loop; hinge-bar missing; length, 26 mm.

55 (51). Copper-alloy fragment of buckle loop; length, 30 mm.

56 (54). Copper-alloy buckle with D-shaped loop and club-shaped tongue with the tip missing; length, 38 mm.

57 (56). Copper-alloy buckle tongue with basal shield; length, 24 mm.

58 (58). Copper-alloy buckle tongue, club-shaped with hooked tip; length, 32 mm.

59 (63). Copper-alloy fragment of a tubular strap-mount of D-shaped section, of 5th-century Quoit Brooch Style type; length, 33 mm.

60 (65). Copper-alloy ovoid ring; diameter, 22 mm (max).

61 (68). Copper-alloy ring with remains of tinning; diameter, 29 mm.

62 (69). Copper-alloy head-plate of a cruciform brooch of Åberg's group II or III, with two of three half-round knobs remaining; width, 37 mm.

63 (70). Copper-alloy fragment of buckle loop; length, 23 mm.

64 (72). Copper-alloy circular belt stud with convex top; diameter, 10 mm.

65 (73). Copper-alloy oval buckle loop; length, 32 mm.

66 (75). Copper-alloy elongated oval buckle loop; length, 42 mm.

67 (76). Copper-alloy dome-headed buckle rivet with fragment of plate; width, 15 mm.

68 (77). Copper-alloy sub-triangular fragment of stud; width, 10 mm.

69 (78). Copper-alloy brooch or stud fragment; ovoid; length, 22 mm.

70 (79). Copper-alloy disc-headed rivet (from a shield?) with iron remains adhering; length, 26 mm.

71 (81). Copper-alloy D-shaped buckle loop; hinge bar missing; length, 36 mm.

72 (82). Copper-alloy sheet fragment; possibly part of no. 6 above; width, 21 mm.

73 (83). Copper-alloy fragment of buckle loop; length, 28 mm.

74 (84). Gilded copper-alloy buckle tongue; club-shaped with median ridge; length, 28 mm.

75 (86). Copper-alloy heart-shaped belt mount with three dome-headed rivets; length, 18 mm.

76 (87). Two joining fragments of copper-alloy strip; length, 70 mm overall.

77 (88). Copper-alloy D-shaped buckle loop; length, 33 mm.

78 (89). Curved copper-alloy strip with median groove on one side; length, 63 mm.

79 (90). Copper-alloy D-shaped buckle loop; length, 29 mm.

80 (92). Copper-alloy buckle loop, elongated D-shape; length, 38 mm.

81 (93). Half of an iron buckle loop inlaid with keystone garnets on grid-patterned foils, possibly joins no. 30 above, a Frankish 'import' of the early 6th century with very corroded remains of silver cloisons; length, 30 mm.

82 (95). Copper-alloy buckle tongue; length, 30 mm.

83 (96). Copper-alloy fragment of buckle loop; length, 27 mm.

84 (98). Copper-alloy oval buckle loop; length, 27 mm.

85 (99). Copper-alloy fragment of buckle loop and an unidentified curved fragment of white metal (analysed in the BM as copper alloy); lengths, 20 mm and 15 mm. 86 (101). Lead stud (with some tin), domed with circular indentations round the sides and on top; diameter, 7 mm.

87 (102). Copper-alloy buckle tongue with basal shield; length, 35 mm.

88 (105). Copper-alloy oval buckle loop; length, 27 mm.

89 (106). Large oval high-tin bronze buckle loop; length, 44 mm.

90 (108). Copper-alloy fragment of tongue-shaped strap-end with median ridge; length, 34 mm.

91 (110). Copper-alloy fragment, sub-rectangular and decorated with two transverse beaded lines; length, 22 mm.

92 (111). Copper-alloy D-shaped buckle loop; length, 23 mm.

93 (118). Gilded copper-alloy button brooch decorated with a profile human head; rim missing; diameter, 14 mm surviving. It is an example of Avent & Evison's late 5th/early 6th-century class L, occurring also at Chessell Down (R. Avent and V.I. Evison, 1982, 'Anglo-Saxon button brooches', Archaeologia, 107, pp. 77-124).

94 (120). Copper-alloy bracelet fragment of rod; length, 34 mm.

95 (121). Large D-shaped buckle loop of high-tin bronze; length, 37 mm. And iron shank of nail or pin of uncertain date; length, 35 mm.

96 (122). Copper-alloy button-type brooch with indistinct raised square possibly with projecting corners enclosing a central boss; rim missing; diameter, 17 mm surviving. It is similar to brooch from Marchélepot, France (Avent and Evison op. cit., pl. 18d).

97 (125). Fragment of a high-tin bronze buckle loop; length, 24 mm.

98 (126). Copper-alloy basal shield from a buckle tongue; length, 20 mm.

99 (131). Copper-alloy D-shaped buckle loop; length, 27 mm.

100 (133). Copper-alloy button brooch with indistinct design; rim missing; diameter, 18 mm surviving.

101 (134). Small copper-alloy ring with a ridge round the girth incised with radiating grooves on one side and a criss-cross pattern on the other; diameter, 13 mm.

102 (137). Copper-alloy D-shaped buckle loop; length, 20 mm.

103a (138a). Copper-alloy domed belt rivet decorated with radiating grooves, a Frankish 'import'; diameter, 10 mm.

103b (138b). White metal fragment (analysed at the BM as copper alloy); length, 29 mm.

103c (138c). Copper-alloy scrap; molten? Width, 26 mm.

104 (139). Gilded copper-alloy fragment of a button brooch decorated with a sharply featured human face; width, 16 mm surviving. It is an example of Avent & Evison's class Ai of the late 5th/earlier 6th-century (op. cit.).

C. NON-METAL FINDS

105 (135). Annular blue glass bead; diameter, 10 mm.

106 (136). Annular green glass bead with white zigzag trial; diameter, 16 mm.

CONCLUSION

With the exception of items 6 (25) and 72 (82) 82, which may be Roman, and 18 (109) and 86 (101), which are of uncertain attribution, the above finds are early Anglo-Saxon, with a few contemporary 'imports' from the Continent, and predominantly of 6th-century date, or in one or two cases possibly of the 5th century. The precious-metal items (1-21) would therefore qualify as Treasure under two of the stipulated criteria of the Treasure Act: they are more than 300 years old and the precious metal content exceeds 10%. The non-precious-metal and non-metal items (22-106) are very likely to derive from graves which would have contained precious-metal finds and would therefore qualify as Treasure by association (the clusters of finds indicative of the plough scattering of objects from graves containing Treasure finds were identified on a site plan for the 2004 T187 report).

B.M. Ager R.A. Abdy

Curator Curator Department of Prehistory & Europe Department of Coins and Medals

8 January 2008