A 6th century Anglo-Saxon grave near Canterbury in Kent has yielded a spectacular sword in an exceptional state of preservation. It is of such high quality craftsmanship that experts are comparing it to the sword with the gold and garnet hilt discovered in the treasure-laden ship burial discovered at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk in 1939.
The sword has a silver and gilt hilt with a finely-crafted decorative pattern. A ring attached to the pommel may symbolize an oath ring and represent an allegiance sworn by the deceased to a king or other leader. The blade is incised with runes. Fragments of the leather and wood scabbard lined with beaver fur were also found.
The Sutton Hoo sword dates to the early 7th century and was more elaborate, the hilt crafted of gold with cloisonné garnets, but it too was found intact inside a wooden scabbard. The Sutton Hoo scabbard was lined with sheep’s wool.
The exact location of the recent sword discovery is being kept secret for now because of how rich a site it is. Archaeologists have so far unearthed 12 burials of men and women, but they estimate there may be as many as 200 in the burial ground. All of the men were buried with weapons — spear-points, shields, and the one grave with this exceptional sword — while the women’s graves contain knives, brooches, buckles and other precious objects. The male grave with the sword also had a piece of jewelry, a gold pendant inscribed with a serpent or dragon, of a type usually found in female burials. Archaeologists hypothesize that it may have been a gift from a female relative or heirloom from an ancestor.
The excavation of the Anglo-Saxon burial site has been filmed for BBC Two’s Digging for Britain program which will air next year. Even so early in the excavation of the cemetery, the remains that have been recovered so far will give new insight into the funerary practices of the Anglo-Saxon community that buried their dead at the site.
[Conservator Dana Goodburn-Brown] has, for example, found fly pupae on the sword, which means that the body was not immediately covered before being buried, perhaps giving loved ones time to say their goodbyes. “So we’re learning something about the funerary practices,” she says in the programme.
It is also illuminating the migration of Germanic peoples of northern continental Europe to Britain after the retreat of Roman forces in the early 5th century.
One of the graves belonged to a woman buried in the later fifth century with objects that had originated in Scandinavia. Some of the later sixth-century graves have artefacts of a Frankish origin.
[Lead archaeologist Duncan] Sayer said: “So we can really see the change in the political landscape within Kent in this site in the fifth and sixth centuries.” […]
The excavation is part of a bigger project. A study of 300 early Anglo-Saxons from across the east coast of Britain found that about 75% of the DNA was from continental northern Europe – “a significant migration event after the Roman administration stopped in Britain”, Sayer said.
He added: “Before we published those results, there was still quite a lot of conversation about whether there really was a significant migration. Now it’s absolutely definite that there has to have been a very significant influx, especially in the east coast taking place over generations. They’re not coming from one place, but multiple places. This cemetery is right at the cutting-edge of that work.”
The sword and other artifacts recovered from the burials will be conserved and studied. When the work is complete, they will go on display at the Folkestone Museum in Folkestone, Kent.
