The Staffordshire Hoard : an Anglo-Saxon treasure / edited by Chris Fern, Tania Dickinson, & Leslie Webster.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Fern, Chris, 1977- editor.

Dickinson, Tania Marguerite, editor.

Webster, Leslie, editor.

Albert C. Baugh Book Fund.

Series:

Research report of the Society of Antiquaries of London ; no. 80.

Research report of the Society of Antiquaries of London ; No. 80

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Excavations (Archaeology)--England--Staffordshire.

Excavations (Archaeology).

Anglo-Saxons--England--Staffordshire.

Anglo-Saxons.

Art metal-work, Anglo-Saxon--England--Staffordshire.

Art metal-work, Anglo-Saxon.

Treasure troves--England--Staffordshire.

Treasure troves.

Antiquities.

Staffordshire (England)--Antiquities.

Staffordshire (England).

England--Staffordshire.

Physical Description:

587 pages : color illustrations, maps, plans ; 29 cm.

Other Title:

Anglo-Saxon treasure

Place of Publication:

London : Society of Antiquaries of London, 2019.

Summary:

"The Staffordshire Hoard: An Anglo-Saxon Treasure' tells the story of the Staffordshire Hoard's discovery and acquisition, and the six-year research project that pieced its fragments back together, identified its objects and explored their manufacture. Key chapters discuss the decoration and meaning of the Hoard's intricate ornament, the techniques of Anglo-Saxon craftsmen, the religious and historical background, and hoarding practice in Britain and Europe, to place this most exceptional find in context. Finally, the text explores the impact that the find has had locally, nationally and internationally in the twenty-first century"--Back cover.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: pt. ONE THE HOARD

ch. 1 From Discovery to Conservation Discovery / H. E. M. Cool

Fieldwork of 2009 and 2010 Alex Jones, Eamonn Baldwin and Alison Deegan

Fieldwork methodology

Fieldwork results

Geophysical (magnetometer) survey 2009 Eamonn Baldwin

Recovery excavation 2009

Trenching 2010

Aerial photography assessment Alison Deegan

Discussion

Fieldwork in 2012 HEM Cool

Acquisition, funding and project organisation / Jenni Butterworth

The conservation programme / Lizzie Miller

Investigative conservation methodology

Garnet cloisonne objects

Filigree decorated objects

Rejoining and reconstruction

Die-impressed silver sheet

Conclusion

The reliability of the finds context / Chris Fern

ch. 2 Characterising the Objects / Chris Fern

Fittings from weaponry

Pommels and sword-rings (cat. 1

84)

Hilt-collars and hilt-rings (cat. 85

242)

Hilt-plates and hilt-guards (cat. 243

409 and 696

7)

Hilt-mounts and other small mounts (cat. 410

537)

Fittings from weapon-harness (cat. 572

87)

The typological and functional significance of the weapon-fittings

Helmet parts, decorated silver sheet, reeded strip and edge binding / George Speake

Cast helmet parts with animal ornament (cat. 589

92)

Silver helmet-band and decorated silver sheet (cat. 593

604 and 606)

Reeded strip (cat. 609

13)

Edge binding (cat. 614

5) / Chris Fern

The social context, form and date of the helmet / George Speake

The helmet and its Anglo-Saxon context

Helmet: form and reconstruction

Origin, social significance and date

Large mounts not from weaponry and harness-mount (cat. 698)

Sets of mounts in garnet cloisonne (cat. 542

66)

Mount with fish and birds (cat. 538)

Set of silver mounts with niello (cat. 567

71)

Harness-mount with interlace (cat. 698)

Discussion of the large mounts and harness-mount (cat. 698)

Christian objects

Great gold cross (cat. 539)

Socketed-base and pins (cat. 607/8 and 676)

Inscribed strip (cat. 540)

The palaeography of the inscriptions Richard Gameson

Head-dress mount (cat. 541)

Cross-pendant (cat. 588)

The Christian objects: function and significance / Leslie Webster

Objects associated with Christian ceremony and worship

Crosses worn on the body or on equipment

Objects of uncertain, but possibly religious, purpose

Miscellanea

ch. 3 Workshop Practice / Chris Fern

Analysing the resource

Materials

Gold

Silver, copper alloy and other metals

Garnets / Catherine Higgitt

Glass / Andrew Meek

`Unidentified' inlay / Marcos Martinon-Torres

Organics and pastes / Chris Fern

Other materials

Manufacture

Casting

Sheet and foil

Soldering

Surface-enrichment of gold

Gilding

Die-impressing on sheet and foil / George Speake

Reeded strip / George Speake

Incising and punching

Niello

Filigree / Niamh Whitfield

Wires, granules and patterns

Back-sheets

Cloisonne and other lapidary work / Chris Fern

Stones and manufacture

Cell-forms and patterns

Backing foils

`Assembly' marks and other marks / Chris Fern

ch. 4 Life of Objects: Wear, Modification, Repair and Damage / Chris Fern

Wear

Modification and repair

Damage

ch. 5 Styles of Display and Revelation / Chris Fern

Style and substance

Animal ornament in the Hoard

Ornament of the helmet and die-impressed sheet George Speake

Animal ornament

Figural ornament

Interlace and knots

Scrollwork

Early Insular style

Geometric ornament and symbols

ch. 6 Date and Origin / Chris Fern

Dating the Hoard

Hoard Phase 1 sixth-century silver fittings from weapons

Hoard Phase 2 (gold): Anglo-Saxon early Style n and contemporaneous styles and objects, c 570

c 630

Hoard Phase 3 (gold): Anglo-Saxon late Style n and contemporaneous objects, c610

c650

Hoard Phase 4 (silver objects with gold mounts): Early Insular style objects, c630

c660

Summary

Origins

Mercia

Kent, East Anglia or Greater Northumbria

pt. TWO THE BROADER CONTEXT

ch. 7 The Historical Context: Local, Regional and National Historical background / Barbara Yorke

Early medieval Britain in the seventh century

The early Mercian kings

Religion in early Mercia

The findspot of the Staffordshire assemblage and the history of Mercia

The Church and warfare: the religious and cultural background to the Hoard / Alan Thacker

The contemporary context

Christian and pagan culture in the early seventh century

Anglian connections

ch. 8 The Archaeological Context: Matters of Material and Social Significance / John Hines

The Early Anglo-Saxon period: graves and grave goods

Social hierarchy and its visibility

Resources and their use: the contemporary value of the Hoard

The archaeology of early Mercia

ch. 9 Hoards and Hoarding Introduction / Tania Dickinson

Hoarding in later Roman Britain and beyond Peter Guest

The hoarding of Roman objects in Britain in the fourth and fifth centuries

The status of gold and silver in the later Roman world (and beyond)

Dating hoards of late Roman objects

Fragmentation of Roman gold and silver objects

The hoarding of late Roman objects in post-Roman Britain

Hoarding in continental Germanic Europe Matthias Hardt

Royal treasure, gift exchange and tribute

Precious metal of provincial Roman origin

Gold and silver: coins, ingots and rings in Migration period hoards in eastern central Europe

Brooches from deposits in the Carpathian Basin

Tableware in hoards from the Danubian area

Hoard finds in Italy, Burgundia and Visigothic Spain

Hidden treasure in texts from the early medieval period

Scandinavian hoarding Svante Fischer

Imagining Scandinavia

Ways of hoarding

War booty sacrifices

Precious metal hoards and central places

ch. 10 What Does it Mean? / Leslie Webster

The exceptionality of the Hoard

Key characteristics

Comparable assemblages?

Towards a biography of the Staffordshire Hoard

Assembly

A `last gathering'

Final selection and disassembly

Burial

Conclusion: multiple explanations and narratives

Afterword

The impact of the Hoard / Chris Fern

Impact on our knowledge of the Anglo-Saxon world

Future research

Impact on public engagement with the past / Jenni Butterworth

pt. THREE THE ABBREVIATED CATALOGUE

Catalogue images

Catalogue entries Chris Fern

Select sets of hilt-fittings.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Albert C. Baugh Book Fund.

ISBN:

9781527233508

1527233502

OCLC:

1084403618

Publisher Number:

99985410943