Outstanding 6th century. Sword found in Anglo-Saxon grave –

A spectacular, well-preserved sword has been unearthed from a 6th-century Anglo-Saxon tomb near Canterbury, Kent. The quality of its craftsmanship is so high that experts have compared it to a sword with a gold and garnet handle found in a treasure-laden ship burial at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, in 1939.

The hilt of this sword is made of gilt silver and has exquisite decorative patterns on it. The ring on the pommel may symbolize an oath ring, representing the deceased’s oath of allegiance to the king or other leader. Runes are engraved on the blade. Fragments of leather and wooden scabbards, lined with beaver fur, were also found.

The Sutton Hoo sword dates from the early seventh century and is more elaborate, with a hilt made of gold and set with cloisonné garnets, but it has also been found intact in a wooden scabbard. The Sutton Hoo scabbard is lined with wool.

The exact location of the recently discovered sword is currently being kept secret because of its rich location. Archaeologists have so far excavated 12 male and female burials, but they estimate there may be as many as 200 in the cemetery. All of the men’s graves contained weapons—spear points, shields, and one tomb containing this particular sword—while the women’s graves contained knives, brooches, belt buckles, and other valuables. The male tomb with the sword also contained a piece of jewelry, a gold pendant engraved with a snake or dragon, a type often found in female tombs. Archaeologists speculate that it may have been a gift from a female relative or an heirloom from an ancestor.

The excavation of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery has been filmed for BBC Two’s Digging for Britain program, which will air next year. Even at this early stage of cemetery excavation, the remains discovered so far will shed new light on the funerary practices of the Anglo-Saxon community who buried their dead at the site.

[Conservator Dana Goodburn-Brown] For example, fly pupae were found on the sword, which means the body was not covered immediately before burial, perhaps to give loved ones time to say goodbye. “So we’re learning something about funeral customs,” she said on the show.

It also illustrates the migration of Germanic peoples from the north of the continent to Britain following the retreat of Roman armies in the early 5th century.

One of the tombs, belonging to a woman buried in the late fifth century, contained objects from Scandinavia. Some late sixth-century tombs contain artifacts of Frankish origin.

[Lead archaeologist Duncan] “So we can really see at this site how the political landscape of Kent changed in the fifth and sixth centuries,” Thayer said. […]

The excavation is part of a larger project. A study of 300 early Anglo-Saxons on Britain’s east coast found that about 75 percent of the DNA came from the northern European continent – “a major immigration event after the Roman government ceased to rule in Britain,” Thayer said.

He added: “Before we publish these results, there is still a lot of discussion about whether there is indeed a major migration. What is now certain is that there must have been a large influx of people, particularly on the east coast, that has been going on for several generations “They’re not coming from one place, they’re coming from multiple places.”

Swords and other artifacts recovered from the tomb will be preserved and studied. Once the works are completed, they will be displayed at Folkestone Museum in Folkestone, Kent.