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COLCHESTER TREASURE HUNTING HOLIDAYS IN ENGLAND Twinned with Midwest Historical Research Society USA Finds section All finds by individual catagory
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Saxon/Viking
History and finds |
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Saxon Bronze ornamental plate
The
Angle, Saxon, and Jute tribes who invaded Britain in the 5th and 6th
centuries are known as the Anglo-Saxons. They left their homelands in
northern Germany, Denmark and northern Holland and rowed across the
North Sea in wooden boats.
The Anglo-Saxons took control of most of Britain, although they never conquered Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. They divided the country into kingdoms, each with its own royal family. The stronger kingdoms often took control of the weaker kingdoms. By around AD 600 the five main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Kent and Anglia. |
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Early Anglo-Saxons wrote using letters called runes. They believed runes had magical powers. |
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Anglo
Saxon England (597 - 687) |
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Mercian
Rule
Wulfhere
658-675 Under Wessex Rule 828-830 Mercian Rule Wiglaf
(again) 830-840 Sub-Kings under Norse Rule Ceolwulf II 874-879 Mercian Rule Aethelred II 879-884
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English Saxon Thrymsa gold coin - 'Witmen type' c620 -650 AD named after the hoard found in 1828. Sent off to the Fitzwilliam museum Corpus database for recording 1.26g, 11.46mm Recored as EMC 2007.0302.
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Thor's hammer pendant - silvered base metal 2.45g - 22.59mm L Museums feedback 'The pendant is Viking period, so 9th-11th century. It represents Thors hammer which was called Mjollnir. I would suggest that it is Scandinavian rather than a copy, as it is securely placed within Viking mythology.'
Viking Age 1000AD. This particular Thor's Hammer pendant was found in Mandemark on the island of Møn and is displayed in the National Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark. |
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1050- 1053 Saxon - Edward the Confessor hammered silver penny - expanding cross type - heavy coinage ? Obv EDWERD REX : + Rev (Wulfsige) ON GIPESWIC (Short cross voided with expanding limbs) - IPSWICH MINT (GIPESWIC) EMC 2008.0136. 1.63g, 19.87mm 'I have recorded it as EMC 2008.0136. The portrait with two toggles on the mantle certainly differs from the types illustrated in North, but these illustrations were drawn in the the early 1960s to show the main types only. There are many variants, and the three other coins of this type, mint (Ipswich) and moneyer 'This is extremely interesting. It is very promising. Gareth Williams has commented that the Ipswich coin 'seems to be from the same dies as one of our [British Museum] coins (1950,6-5, 1) and the same variation in the design is also found on two different obverses of Bruninc of Ipswich. However, it isn't a purely local variation, as the same bust appears on selected coins of Colchester, Gloucester and London, and a related variation at Dover, although these represent the minority of dies from the mint in each Martin
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Saxon
C600 - 775 AD Silver Sceat
1.16g, 10.98mm Series D (Type 2c) (North 168) EMC 2007.0239. |
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Saxon C600-775 AD Silver Sceat - 1.13g,11.28mm '(Series C2), which I have recorded as EMC 2007.0228'. |
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Saxon C600-775 AD Silver Sceat 0.88g, 11.07mm - Series C2 and recorded as EMC 2007.0268. |
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Saxon C600 - 775 AD Silver Sceat 1.07g, 11.62mm 'Thank you for this new coin, which I have recorded as EMC 2007.0087.This is an imitation of Series B, derived from Series BI. Metcalf illustrates six imitations of Series B (nos 107-112), which show the great range of variation found in these imitations'. |
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Saxon C600 - 775 AD Silver Sceat 1.16g, 12.18mm 'Thanks for the new
find, which I have recorded as EMC 2007.0081. It is an interesting
imitation of Series R, which does not closely correspond to any of
the Series R subtypes'. |
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Saxon C600-775 AD Silver Sceat 1.23g,11.15mm 'Many thanks for the latest find (EMC 2006.0342), which is excellent example of the Series C1 inverted type'. |
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Saxon C600 - 775 AD Silver Sceat, 0.94g - 11.09 mm 'The sceat is Series F, variety bi (Metcalf, p. 129) (EMC 2006.0335). |
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'After puzzling over
the reverse inscription of your second coin (EMC 2006.0336) for some
considerable time I realised this is actually a Pada type III sceat
(North 31). The reverse inscription is not as clear as it |
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8thC
Saxon pin head- 4.05g, 9.47mm dia, 19.05mm L |
8thC
Saxon bronze brooch 3.80g, 25.46mm L 15.24mm W |
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Saxon C600 - 775 AD Silver Sceat 1.14g,10.81mm 'Many
thanks for the new coin, which I have recorded as EMC 2006.0338. A nice
example of Series D Type 2c, one of the major series of Frisian sceattas'. |
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Decoration matches the bowl on the left which is part of a known Viking silver hoard |
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C10thC Anglo Saxon strap end 18.48g, 34.41mmL x 18.33mmW x6.53mm H Only one of it's type found in Britain - donated to Colchester museum by NovaScotia Andy 'It is probably an insular copy of a Carolingian style, or it could even be the product of a workshop located on the fringes of the Carolingian continent, maybe somewhere like Domburg on the coast of Frisia. 10th - 11th century in date'. |
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5thC bronze decorated dagger guard or quillion 42.87mmL ,10.85mm H |
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King
Offa - 780 - 792 King of Mercia hammered silver .0.92g - 16.64mm EMC
2006.0181 found by Ark Gary |
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EMC 2005.0229 found by NY Ken King Offa - 780 - 792 King of Mercia hammered silver 1.27g, 16.67mm OFFA
REX (King Offa) and, on the reverse side, Eð / IL /
VA / Ld (Ethilwald - the moneyer who authorised the minting
of the coin). During Anglo-Saxon times when England was divided between seven or so kingdoms, the last and greatest ruler of the central kingdom, Mercia, was Offa who ruled from 757 to 796. His military capital was at Sutton Walls near Sutton-St-Nicholas, and it is probably that Hereford was his civil one, hence Offa street.The name Mercia means boundery and indeed Offa's kingdom straddled the Welsh border with the city of Hereford on the very frontier. Offa built the first defences for Hereford after it was attacked by the Welsh in 769. These consisted of earth and timber banks surrounded by a deep ditch, the outline of which is marked in the subway at Eign gate.These structures can still be traced today, but Offa's greatest legacy was the monumental defensive earthwork he constructed between England and Wales, famous as Offa's Dyke to try and keep out raiding parties and possibly also as a springboard from which the Mercians could launch attacks Wales.Apart from where rivers supplied a boundery, this dyke ran 120 miles from Clwyd to the Severn estuary. It was a 6-feet-deep trench fronting a rampart 19ft high. Garrisons were positioned at regular intervals along its length. With some 80 miles of it still surviving, it is the largest earthwork of its type in Europe.Under Offa Mercia became the overlord of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms south of the Humber, and he styled himself as Rex Anglorum (King of the English). He gained control of Wessex through alliances of marriage and Kent and Essex by military might.London grew as Offa strengthened trading links with the continent, including with the Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne. Liason was establish between the two kings with mutual esteem until they fell out over marriage proposals concerning their children.Offa coined the first silver pennies which were such a high standard of weight, size and artistry that they set the basic for English coinage for the next 600 years.Interestingly he minted some coins with the inscription 'There is no God but Allah'. Some have speculated whether he was a convert to Islam though this is very unlikely, these were probably made for export, as in other ways he acted like a Christian king. He held a synod in Chelsea ca. 787,and granted land at Harrow to the Abbey of St Albans which he founded.Unfortunately one dark event casts a shadow over his reign. In 972 King Ethelbert of East Anglia travelled to Hereford hoping to marry Offa's daughter, Elfrida. But Offa's queen, Quendreda felt that this might make Ethelbert powerful enough to replace Offa as the greatest ruler in England. He persuaded Offa to have Ethelbert beheaded and burried beside the Lugg.However, that night miracles occurred where the dead king lay. Offa felt guilty and had Ethelbert's remains moved to Hereford Cathedral and built a shrine to house them. Ethelbert was made a saint, his tomb attracted pilgrims whose money couple with donations from Offa allowed the Cathedral to be rebuilt far more grandly. As a further sacrifice of penance he gave the patronage of Wood street, London and land at Stanmore to the Abbey of St Alban's. |
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Coenwulf, king of Mercia (796-821) 1.31g, 19.78mm found by Wis Paul EMC 20050226 'This is a good example of the earliest East Anglian coinage of Coenwulf (North 363). It is quite rare, as there are only two other examples of North 363 on EMC, from dies of different styles'. Following Offa on the throne of Mercia was Coenwulf, who succeeded the great king in name and deed. He was indeed an overlord, much as Offa was, and he played the part well. He even had his own silver penny made.Coenwulf, of course, had really succeeded Ecgfrith, Offa's son, who managed to hold onto the crown for only 141 days. Coenwulf proving himself the better man for the throne, Ecgfrith paid for his defense of his father's bloodline with his own blood.Coenwulf soon went about continuing the anti-Welsh doctrine of Offa, engaging the Welsh on their own land in the 797 Battle of Rhuddlan. Fighting against a combined force from Powys and Dyfed, Coenwulf scores a convincing victory, even gaining for himself the spoils of killing Dyfed's King Maredydd.After this significant victory, Coenwulf continued into Wales. The next year, at a battle in Snowdonia, Coenwulf and his crack Mercian troops add Gwynedd's King Caradog to the list of the Welsh kings killed in battle. Coenwulf's domination of eastern Wales is nearly complete.Not much more is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon and Welsh chronicles of the times, for a number of years. We are left to assume that the struggles between the two peoples continued off and on. The thread of Coenwulf in Wales is taken up again in 818, when the chroniclers tell us that the Mercians raided Dyfed. (One chronicle uses the word "ravaged.")Coenwulf continued his campaigning in Wales until his death at Basingwerk, in 821. His target at the time: Powys.So we can see from a simple glance at a map that Coenwulf and his Mercians were controlling a vast amount of territory at this time. In addition to most of Anglo-Saxon England (in one way or another), Mercia now controlled or could lay claim to much of Wales. The results of Coenwulf may very well be seen to have outstripped even the lofty ambitions of the great King Offa.Coenwulf did his part for the Church as well, granting money for the establishment of churches and abbeys throughout Mercia. But such offerings to the Church did little to assuage the concerns of the common people, who were suffering the most under the Mercian yoke. The tradition of Offa, reinforced by Coenwulf, went a long way toward the viewing of Mercia as "the beast." In just a few years more, Wessex would be seen as the instrumental of salvation from the oppression precipitated by Mercia. |
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Saxon C600 - 775 AD Silver Sceattas, 1.16g - 11.85 mm found by Ohio Tony Thanks to Martin at the Fitzmuseum Cambridge for helping to ID this unusual Saxon silver. 'This coin (EMC 2005.0208) seems to be a variant of Series BIA. There is great variation in the early varieties of Series B and the illustrations in Metcalf are by no means comprehensive'.
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Late Saxon stirrup strap mount Class A Type 11a Sub tringular mount depicts a Lion looking upwards with its front paw raised and tail curled between its legs and over the back found by Ohio John |
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10th/11thC Late Saxon stirrup mount - Type 12 openwork version Page 7 - fig 312, David Williams 20.10g, 46.78mm L x 27.47mm W x 4.99mm T |
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Saxon C600 - 775 AD Silver Sceattas Porcupine Type found by NY Ken (Metcalf 1993 plate 11/12, obv:195 rev:221) early 8th C 0.87g 12.1 mm |
Saxon C600 - 775 AD Silver Sceattas found by Ark Gary Metcalf type C2 (metcalf 1993, 1, plate 6, 121) c.705 0.85g, 12mm |
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Saxon C600 - 775 AD Silver Sceattas Porcupine Type 0.94g, 12mm Thanks to Martin at the Fitzmuseum Cambridge for helping to ID this unusual Saxon silver. 'Your 'sceat' is a very interesting mule with designs derived from the Series E plumed bird type and the Series D cross pommee reverse. This is a good example of the copying of designs in this coinage, which often resulted in rather garbled copies'. |
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Saxon Primary
silver Sceattas c 680 - 710 AD(y) |
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Saxon C600 - 775 AD Silver Sceattas (Metcalf Series D, Variety 2C, light specimen C700 - 715 AD 1.00g 10.8 mm |
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Saxon C600 - 775 AD Silver Sceattas Porcupine Type (Metcalf Series E, Variety G1, C 695 - 710 AD (1993, 2 plate 11/201)1.19g 12.34 mm |
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Saxon C600-775 AD Silver Sceat Series C1 inverted type' 1.18g, 11.99mm EMC 2007.0057 |
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7thC Saxon gold Tremissis 1.27g, 13.16mm 'The new find (EMC 2007.0069) is a Merovingian tremissis of the 7th century. The name of the mint on the obverse seems to read PAATICIACO, and the moneyer's name on the reverse is DEAIRENASCA. I have found a coin with a fairly similar obverse inscription (PATICACO VIGO) from an unidentified town in the region of Tours (Prou 413). If I obtain any more information I shall let you know. I have passed on your enquiry about the nature of the site to Mark Blackburn, who is much better qualified than I to answer it. The evidence you are finding for early Anglo-Saxon activity in the area is certainly very impressive'. |
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Saxon period gold coin 6th/8thC, Early Continental (Merovingian Francia) (584-750), Ruler: anon. (tremissis) (590-675). Found by Boston Bud (Y) EMC
number 2004.0030 (Ref: Reported by Caroline MacDonald, FLO for Colchester) Thanks to Bud for sending more some more information he researched about his coin. I must admit I knew nothing about this period so this is fascinating stuff. Merovingian Tremissis The Merovingian dynasty is said to have begun in 481 with King Clovis I, king of the Franks, who defeated the last Roman army in Gaul. King Clovis, a Salian Frank, supposedly descended from a mythical hero named Merovech. The dynasty ended with the power of the last Merovingian kings being taken over by a prime minister, Pippin the short (752-768). His son Karel (Charles) the great or Charlemagne (768-814) initiated the Carolinginan Dynasty. The Merovingian
Dynasty, ca 500-751 Here is a site
listing the Merovingian Rulers It is said that the Franks were the only tribe to make and use coins. Circulated gold coins were called Solidi and Tremissis. They were crude coins with simple portraits and figures. In the EMC at the Fitzwilliam Museum, where coins can be viewed on line. http://www-cm.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/ I found about 80 Tremmisis. All look different to me. The gold tremmisis found here is described as “early” continental Merovingian Francia (584-750) because at the end of the 7th century, gold coins were replaced by silver denarii or pennies. Silver coins from the Netherlands are called sceattas. |
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What can you say about a find like this, just beautifully tooled solid gold and probably owned by a very important Saxon chief. Brought by Colchester museum under the Treasure Act. Saxon (c.550-650AD) dagger pommel end piece |
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Saxon Primary
silver Sceattas c 680 - 710 AD(y) found by Vancouver Dave |
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9thC hanger
with face design(b) found by Essex Dave |
Roman coin
used as a Saxon pendant |
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4thC Roman
bronze used by an 8thC Saxon as a pendant |
8thC
Saxon key found by Cal Shawn |
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Saxon period
decorated mount |
Saxon 8thC
pin head |
9thC Bronze
silvered Saxon strap end fragment 9.54g, 27.89mm L |
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Incomplete
harness strap distributor (probably a bridle cheek piece) of the late
Anglo-Saxon to early Norman period |
Incomplete
harness strap distributor (probably a bridle cheek piece) of the late
Anglo-Saxon to early Norman period |
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850 AD
- 1066 AD 'The object is either a cheek piece or a strap junction' |
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Incomplete
harness strap distributor (probably a bridle cheek piece) of the late
Anglo-Saxon to early Norman period |
Incomplete
harness strap distributor (probably a bridle cheek piece) of the late
Anglo-Saxon to early Norman period |
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Saxon
equal ended brooch fragment |
c
8thC Saxon cheek piece fragment |
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Viking
stirup terminal |
Anglo
Saxon period buckle with central pivoted pin |
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Incomplete
harness strap distributor (probably a bridle cheek piece) of the late
Anglo-Saxon to early Norman period |
Incomplete
harness strap distributor (probably a bridle cheek piece) of the late
Anglo-Saxon to early Norman period |
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C10thC
Saxon bronze key 10.41g, 40.88mm Lx19.58mm W x 6.30mm T |
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Saxon period buckle - classic circle decoration - currently with Colchester museum ID'd as Roman period 4.73g, 26.71mm L x 12.57mm W |
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C 8th/9thC
decorated Saxon strap end fragment - 3 rivet fixings 1.53g, 23.38mm
L x 9.97mm W
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Saxon
period item - decorated with iron shaft running through it - possible
small knife handle - one for the museum
11.04g,
26.80mm L x 14.28mm dia |
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C 10thC Saxon key |
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Some
other great Saxon finds (not found here) |
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