[Elfsea] FW: [Steppes] Fw: Saxon King's Tomb

[Spence Mabry]

Just in case no one has seen it.

Ceatta

-----Original Message-----
From: steppes-bounces at ansteorra.org
[mailto:steppes-bounces at ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Michael Smith
Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2004 10:42 AM
To: Barony of Steppes - SCA, Inc.
Subject: [Steppes] Fw: Saxon King's Tomb


another story

Morg


My apologies if you've already seen this. I just read it and thought it
was very cool! 

Link:  http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2494225

Fabulous Finds as Saxon King's Tomb Is Unearthed 

By Tony Jones, PA News 

The tomb of an East Saxon king containing a fabulous collection of
artefacts has been unearthed, it was announced today.

The burial chamber, believed to date from the early 7th century, has
been described by experts as the richest Anglo-Saxon find since the
Sutton Hoo ship burial in Suffolk - one of Britain's most important
archaeological locations.

The site in Prittlewell, Southend, Essex was filled with everything a
King might need in the afterlife, from his sword and shield to copper
bowls, glass vessels and treasures imported from the farthest corners of
the then known world.

The remains of the nobleman's body have dissolved in the acidic soil,
but two gold foil crosses were found which suggest he was a
newly-converted Christian.

Ian Blair, the senior archaeologist on the site who carried out the work
for the Museum of London Archaeology Service, said: "To find an intact
chamber grave and a moment genuinely frozen in time is a
once-in-a-lifetime discovery.

"The fact that copper-alloy bowls were still hanging from hooks in the
walls of the chamber, where they had been placed nearly 1,400 years ago,
is a memory that I'm sure will remain with all of us forever."

He added: "Two foil crosses, probably originally laid on the body or
sewn to a shroud, suggest that the King had converted from paganism to
Christianity."

The tomb was discovered last autumn when Southend-on-Sea Borough
Council's consultants Atkins Heritage and the Museum of London
Archaeology Service began an evaluation survey in an area due for road
improvements.

Saxon artefacts had been found at the site in the past, and on a verge
between a road and a railway line they discovered the burial chamber,
which measured about four metres square by one and a half metres high.

The contents of the tomb had been held in place because the sand from
the mound sealing the grave gradually seeped into the chamber, silting
up the air spaces and supporting the roof-timbers.

Most of the organic material on the site had been destroyed by the
acidity of the soil, but fragments of wood from the burial chamber and
from some of the vessels had survived.

A spokesman for the Museum of London Archaeology Service said: "The find
is spectacular in its size and quality, but what makes it unique is that
all the objects were in their original positions, just as they had been
arranged on the day of the funeral."

He added: "The burial is probably contemporary with the Sutton Hoo
burial (c.AD 630) and it is quite possible that the two men knew each
other.

"This is the period when royalty flaunted their wealth at extravagant
feasts in smoky halls, and epic poems like Beowulf told of heroic feats
of valour."

The most exotic finds are a decorated flagon and at least one bowl that
were both imported from the eastern Mediterranean, possibly Asia Minor.

Other highlights among the sixty or more finds are a hanging bowl
decorated with metallic strips and medallions, and two cauldrons, one
small and one very large.

There are also two pairs of coloured glass vessels, eight wooden
drinking cups decorated with gilded mounts, buckets and the remains of a
large casket that may have originally contained textiles.

A particularly unusual item is the frame of a folding stool, which could
be from Asia Minor or Italy.

The dead man had also been provided with two Merovingian gold coins from
northern France.

Conservation and study of the material that has been found is continuing
but a selection of the objects found in the burial chamber will be on
display free of charge at the Museum of London, from tomorrow, and at
the Southend Central Museum from February 21






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