This week, I thought I’d run through the beginnings of a broader introduction to archaeological theory I have planned. The focus here is on the so-called ‘New’ or Processual Archaeology – one of several competing ways to ‘do’ archaeology. What was it, how was it different, and was it in fact ‘New’? The text here […]
Food is a universal, but frequently invisible to the historian. What and how did people of the past eat? Do these questions vary by ‘class’, gender, age etc. In the first of these Deep-Dives into smaller topics of early medieval history, we’ve going to approach this broadly by looking at the food consumption of the […]
The ‘Anglo-Saxons’ inhabited what would become England following the fall of Rome, from c.410, up until the invasion of the Normans in 1066. Their lives covered some momentous social changes – the widescale (re?)adoption of Christianity, the emergence of an idea of ‘England’, invasion and occupation by the ‘Vikings’. But there’s also a lot to […]
History is far more than simply the old dusty books of kings and rich men. Archaeology, anthropology, art, and economics (to name just a few) all contribute towards constructing a better understanding of the past. The curricula allows you to explore a broad range of methods and theories to approaching the past. If you’re starting […]
One of the ‘Anglo-Saxon’ period‘s most impressive, and most complex, artefacts is the so-called ‘Franks Casket’. A lidded whalebone box, covered in intricate carvings and text, the casket appears to originate from an early eight-century Northumbrian context. But what was it used for, and what can it tell us? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franks_Casket#/media/File:Franks_casket_03.jpg) Finding the Casket The existence […]
One of the ‘Anglo-Saxon’ period‘s most impressive, and most complex, artefacts is the so-called ‘Franks Casket’. A lidded whalebone box, covered in intricate carvings and text, the casket appears to originate from an early eight-century Northumbrian context. But what was it used for, and what can it tell us? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franks_Casket#/media/File:Franks_casket_03.jpg) Finding the Casket The existence […]
Archaeology is about much more than treasure-hunting but, inevitably, popular attention tends to be drawn towards rich and magnificent finds. Within an early medieval context, the ‘Princely’ burials of the Mid Saxon period are particularly notable in this context. The Sutton Hoo Mound 1 ship-burial is deservedly famous and the most impressive example, but the […]