Remnants of a Roman past: the reuse of Roman objects in early Anglo-Saxon graves, c. AD 5th—7th centuries

Thesis

The widespread curation and deposition of Roman material culture in the graves of the Anglo-Saxon dead has long been acknowledged in archaeological study. These reused artefacts have been interpreted in myriad ways: as found curiosities, scrap materials, protective amulets, replacements for contemporary objects, heirlooms, and biographical objects. The first large-scale examination of the typology and use of Roman material was conducted by Roger White in 1988. This thesis builds off the platform set by White to create a wholly new assessment and understanding of the available data.

This methodology is the first to investigate the occurrence of Roman objects in the Anglo-Saxon furnished burial rite throughout space and time by means of a systematic analysis of 5th—7th century burial data. A dataset of 671 objects from 117 cemetery sites is assessed. In four primary veins of multivariate analysis, reused Roman materials are investigated for typological factors and uses, regional distributions, demographic associations, and chronological patterning. Though a wide array of object types is recorded, coins and items which could be used in display are the most numerous. Regionally, the funerary use of Roman artefacts is established to have been most prevalent in the culturally Saxon territories of the Upper Thames Valley and modern-day Wiltshire and Hampshire. Statistical analysis further reveals a disproportionate association between these items and the graves of women and juveniles.

The results of this analysis demonstrate that Roman objects were deposited in different ways and imbued with different social meanings over time, ultimately challenging the ways in which we think about the interactions of 5th—7th century communities and cultures in Britain. These artefacts are interpreted to have played a role in the formation and maintenance of a new cultural identity in late antique Britain through the construction of a shared ‘memory’ of the Roman past.

Authors: Dunham, J

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-pdmywo9o7
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: object reuse; Anglo-Saxon; furnished burial; late antique Britain; Roman
• Subjects: Death and burial; Civilization, Anglo-Saxon