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Anglo-Saxon Stud Archaeol Hist 8
Title
The title of the publication or report
Title:
Anglo-Saxon Stud Archaeol Hist 8
Series
The series the publication or report is included in
Series:
Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History
Volume
Volume number and part
Volume:
8
Publication Type
The type of publication - report, monograph, journal article or chapter from a book
Publication Type:
Journal
Editor
The editor of the publication or report
Editor:
David W Griffiths
Publisher
The publisher of the publication or report
Publisher:
University of Oxford
Year of Publication
The year the book, article or report was published
Year of Publication:
1995
ISBN
International Standard Book Number
ISBN:
0 947816 95 X
Source
Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in.
Source:
BIAB (The British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography (BIAB))
Relations
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Relations:
URI:
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~assah/
Created Date
The date the record of the pubication was first entered
Created Date:
11 Aug 2005
Please click on an Article link to go to the Article Details.
Article Title
Access Type
Author / Editor
Page
Start/End
Abstract
Anglo-Saxon pagan shrines and their prototypes
John Blair
1 - 28
The article considers the evidence for structural shrines associated with English pagan cults. It is argued that the structures at Yeavering reflect a long tradition of square ritual enclosures, stemming from Romano-Celtic shrines and enclosed burials and perhaps reinforced by the survival of Roman stone temples of square-in-square plan. The form is traced through a sequence of square-ditched enclosures from Iron Age to possibly early Anglo-Saxon date, the more important of which were built over Bronze Age barrows. The author argues that these were prototypes for the square enclosures with timber-laced earthen walls at Slonk Hill, Sussex, and at Yeavering, which in turn suggest a cultural context for the large timber shrine at Blacklow Hill, Warwickshire, and for smaller, possibly ritual structures on some domestic sites. Within the enclosures, focal standing posts appear to have been used for aligning graves. The tradition is discussed in terms of the influences from British to English ritual practice and the social and cultural transformations in progress c. AD 600. Includes
Appendix: Goodmanham reconsidered
22 - 24
discusses the Deiran shrine described by Bede
Pagan English sanctuaries, place-names and Hundred meeting places
Audrey L Meaney
29 - 42
Following an introductory discussion of the documentary and archaeological evidence relating to pagan Anglo-Saxon sanctuaries, the author considers the evidence of English place-names which might either directly or indirectly indicate the presence of a sanctuary. She discusses those referring to (possibly sacrificial) animals' heads or to one of the Teutonic deities, or which include words for sanctuaries such as hearg or wig/weoh. The reasons for irregularities in the distribution of this type of place-name evidence are also discussed. Finally, the article looks at the association of the documentary and place-name evidence for shrines with the late Anglo-Saxon administrative network of Hundreds, including the names and meeting-places of some Hundreds.
The Aldewerke and Minster at Shelford, Cambridgeshire
Cyril E Hart
43 - 68
The article discusses the evidence of two rare coins from a hoard of over 7,000 silver coins found at Cuerdale, Lancashire, in 1840. These were minted at Sceldfor, and the evidence for the location of this mint is considered. The author presents the numismatic evidence for his attribution of Sceldfor to Shelford in Cambridgeshire, and offers historical and archaeological evidence in support of his argument.
Literacy in Anglo-Saxon England: the evidence from inscriptions
Elisabeth Okasha
69 - 74
The article looks at the evidence for literacy contained in some two hundred inscribed artefacts from Anglo-Saxon England. The inscriptions are discussed as examples of the practical application of literacy in Anglo-Saxon society; as information about some of the cultural conditions of the society that produced them; and as indicators of some of the ways in which literacy was regarded in Anglo-Saxon England.
The north-west Mercian burhs --; a reappraisal
David W Griffiths
75 - 86
Discussion of the northern Mercian burhs adjacent to the Welsh border, using evidence from excavations of the late Saxon occupation levels at Chester and Rhuddlan as a basis for an archaeological synthesis incorporating information relating to the other historically-documented burhs of Eddisbury, Runcorn, Thelwall and Manchester.
Metal detector finds and fieldwork on Anglo-Saxon sites in Suffolk
John Newman
87 - 93
Account of several projects in the south-east Suffolk area in which fieldwalking as part of the Sutton Hoo area context survey was carried out in combination with metal detecting by local metal detector users, focusing on surface collection and the recovery of finds from ploughsoil. Projects at sites in Shottisham and Playford are discussed in particular. The locations of finds were recorded, and the implications of the resultant patterning for knowledge of Anglo-Saxon settlement and cemetery activity are discussed. The author presents arguments in favour of future collaborations of this type.
Where are the Anglo-Saxons in the Gododdin poem?
C. Cessford
95 - 98
The article considers the textual evidence of the sixth- to seventh-century Gododdin poem, which survives in a thirteenth-century manuscript. The identity of the enemies of the Gododdin, and therefore of the ruling elites of northern England at this time, is discussed, including the question of whether or not they were Anglo-Saxon.
Entrances to sunken-floored structures in Anglo-Saxon times
Philip H Dixon
99 - 101
The author discusses the current shortage of evidence concerning the entrances to sunken-floored huts dating from the Anglo-Saxon period, and considers possible methods of construction which would account for this. In particular he looks at theories put forward in relation to the site of Wijster in the Netherlands, and at the excavation techniques needed to recover evidence relating to such features.
Re-interpreting Mucking: countering the Black Legend
Paul M Barford
103 - 109
The author argues that a series of misconceptions have been allowed to develop concerning the excavations at Mucking in Essex, including via the summary excavation reports by A Clark (Excavations at Mucking 1: the site atlas, London 1993) and by H Hamerow (Excavations at Mucking 2: the Anglo-Saxon settlement, London 1993) and via P Dixon's article on the site (`The Anglo-Saxon settlement at Mucking: an interpretation' in Anglo-Saxon Stud Archaeol Hist 6 (1993), pp 125--47), and seeks to counter them on the basis of his own experience of working there. These alleged misconceptions concern in particular the methods of excavation, such as the mechanical removal of ploughsoil and the alleged improper removal of deeper stratigraphy. Other points challenged by the author relate to the reconstruction of sunken-floored huts at Mucking on the basis of the published evidence, and the failure of the excavation reports, in his view, to reflect the complexity of the site.
From artefact to interpretation using correspondence analysis
Karen Høilund Nielsen
111 - 143
The author discusses the use of correspondence analysis, based on computerized seriation, in the development of chronological sequences in relation to archaeological data, as cited in Chronological studies of Anglo-Saxon England, Lombard Italy and Vendel Period Sweden ed L Jørgensen (Copenhagen, 1992). She considers the technique and various methodological problems associated with it, such as those associated with seriation, the selection of case studies, the application of statistical improvements, and problems relating to the archaeological content, typology and geography. The author reviews the application of correspondence analysis to archaeological data from migration period England, Italy and Sweden, as presented by Jørgensen et al.