Data copyright © Dr Jane Kershaw unless otherwise stated
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Dr
Jane
Kershaw
British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow; Junior Research Fellow, Balliol College
University of Oxford
Over the past 30 years, hundreds of new finds of Viking-Age metalwork have been brought to light, mainly as a result of metal-detecting. Particularly prominent among the new material are female personal ornaments (brooches and pendants), in both Scandinavian and Anglo-Scandinavian styles. While several brooches and pendants recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme are now in the public domain, information relating to many more remains difficult to access in county HERs or regional museum archives. Accordingly, they are presented and illustrated here as a group, for the first time.
This database brings together all known examples of such dress items recorded in England before December 2008. It is structured according to brooch or pendant type and sub-type, and also provides information relating to the artefact's findspot, dimensions, current location, state of preservation and bibliography. Since the find location of the material is potentially sensitive, only 4-figure Grid References have been provided.
This research forms the basis of the book Viking Identities: Scandinavian Jewellery in England, which contains a broader discussion of the material, as well as artefact distribution maps.