Anglo-Saxon Stud Archaeol Hist 9

The paper draws attention to the evidence for a group of furnished burials in the Eden Valley, Cumbria. A date within the pagan Anglo-Saxon period has been offered for this material in antiquarian and more recent literature. The paper evaluates this and other possibilities.

Documentary sources indicate that, during the first half of the seventh century, exogamous dynastic marriages with various native groups were an important strategy of the Berenician royal family. The article suggests that such marriages may have taken place between other social groups. Evidence considered includes that of burials such as those at Blackness Castle and at Hound Point, Dalmeny, both in Lothian, as well as artefacts from a range of British settlement and burial sites.

The paper discusses evidence from the eighth and ninth centuries for the history and settlement patterns of Harrow and Hayes. The author looks at early medieval administrative arrangements for the area and reviews the evidence from a number of documentary sources in detail.

Paper concerning a regional sub-class of Late Anglo-Saxon strap-end, widespread in East Anglia, the decoration of which is characterised by the use of silver-wire scrolls, either set in niello or, less commonly, enamel. Discussion of this group highlights the potential of evaluating the database of strap-ends, which has been greatly expanded in recent years. Firstly, they demonstrate the identification of regional groupings in terms of form and style within the national distribution of strap-ends, thereby adding to knowledge of the provincial organisation of craftwork industries in the period. Secondly, the recognition and analysis of their distinctive ornament extends appreciation of the range of techniques and styles of decoration at the disposal of the Anglo-Saxon artisan.

Description and discussion of a fifth-century decorated copper-alloy mount found by a metal-detectorist at Shavard's Farm, Meonstoke.