In this episode, we discuss the evidence for Anglo-Saxon smiths, the people who created the artefacts at Sutton Hoo and other princely burials. To do this we analyse the Neolithic tomb called Wayland's Smithy and the legend associated with its namesake.

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Sutton Hoo is the most spectacular archaeology discovery in British history. We explore what this tells us about the Anglo-Saxons' relationship to themselves, their neighbours and their past.

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What was it like to be pagan and Christain the next?

In this episode, we visit the site of Yeavering and its many strange burials to try and understand what the conversion of England must have felt like. We go beyond the historical story and explore the actual day to day "experience" of conversion.

Next episode: Sutton Hoo and the Performance of Kingship

Support the show at:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bonesandstuff
Paypal: https://paypal.me/bonesandstuff?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GB
KoFi: ko-fi.com/oldbones

***

Sources:

Taylor, Brian Hope. "Yeavering—an Anglo-British Centre of Early Northumbria." (1977).
An Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Bede

Women in Bede:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZqWvPiCS1iGY6UJWEd21fhj5HM54IEoKb5NAGkf1Lac/edit?usp=sharing



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How do we go from the society we met last time, one that is primarily equal and poor to the medieval image of kings, men with wealth and power near unimaginable to the ordinary peasant.

In this episode, we visit the site of Yeavering and its many strange burials to try and understand the social dynamics that resulted in kingliness.

Sources below.

Next episode: Yeavering & The Rise of Christianity

***

Sources:

Taylor, Brian Hope. "Yeavering—an Anglo-British Centre of Early Northumbria." (1977).


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What was life like in the 400s and 500s CE? That question is not an easy one.

In this episode, we look at the funerary evidence for each stage of life during this period. We understand what identity was developed and how that was closely connected to what individuals did during life as well as the important cultural concerns at the time.

Sources below.

Next episode: Yeavering & Early Anglo-Saxon Elites

***

Sources:

Stoodley, N. (2000). From the cradle to the grave: age organization and the early Anglo-Saxon burial rite. World Archaeology, 38(3), 456-472.

Gowland, R. (2006). Ageing the past: examining age identity from funerary evidence. In R. Gowland & C. Knüsel (Eds.), Social archaeology of funerary remains (pp. 143-155). Oxford: Oxbow Books.

Lucy, S. (2020). Gender and gender roles. In H. Hamerow, D. A. Hinton, & S. Crawford (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Archaeology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Squires, K. E. (2013). Piecing together identity: a social investigation of early Anglo-Saxon cremation practices. Archaeological Journal, 170, 154-200.

Martin, T. F. (2020). "Casting the Net Wider: Network Approaches to Artefact Variation in Post-Roman Europe." Journal of archaeological method and theory 27(4): 861-886.


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All across the East of England, there are small cemeteries with completely new material culture. it looks like it's from North-West Europe and represents the arrival, so well documented, of the Anglo-Saxon people.

In this episode, we introduce the main debates about how and why the Anglo-Saxons started coming to England. It's a bit of a throwback to our Birdoswald episode, but with more theory, more detail and some new ideas from me!

Plus, there's a promise of bonus episodes for those that sign up to Patreon!

Sources below.

Next episode: The Life of an Anglo-Saxon

***

Sources:

Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Gildas' On The Ruin of Britain

Squires, K. E. (2016). Neighbours and networks: funerary trends among cremation practicing groups in early medieval England and north-western Europe. In I. Riddler, J. Soulat, & L. Keys (Eds.), The evidence of material culture: studies in honour of Professor Vera Evison (pp. 119-138). Autun: Editions Mergoil.

Hills, C., & Lucy, S. (2019). Spong Hill and the Anglo-Saxon migration to England. Neue Studien zur Sachsenforschung, 9, 239-248.

Hills, C. (1998). Did the people of Spong Hill come from Schleswig-Holstein? In (Vol. 11, pp. 145-154).

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All around the Irish sea, small stone chapels still remain. Some are amongst the sand dunes, some are now part of larger monasteries and some of them are on golf courses. All of them share an origin story: the beginnings of the Celtic church.

In this episode, we explore the origins of Celtic Christianity, how it remained vibrant and developing while being cut off from other Christian communities in Europe. We explore the nature of ritual and religion and lay the groundwork for much later in our season when we discuss the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons. Oh, and the episode is inspired by a Time Team episode.

Sources below.

Next episode: The Germans are coming!

***

Time Team Reports: https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/our-work/time-team

This episodes report: https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/our-work/speke-keeill-mount-murray-hotel-isle-man

Magic & Memory: Gilchrist, R. (2008). Magic for the dead? The archaeology of magic in later medieval burials. Medieval Archaeology, 52(1), 119-159.

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A king who lies beneath a mountain waiting to return when his land needs him most... which apparently wasn't World War 2, the Great Recession or Coronavirus - how much worse could things become?

Anyway, King Arthur. The Once and Future King, husband to Guinevere, best friend of Lancelot, student of Merlin has his origins in the 400s CE and what with his close ties to Tintagel, it felt right that we take a bit of time to dwell on King Arthur's early medieval origins. More than that though, we ask, why do we keep telling stories of this Dark Age warlord?

Sources below.

Next episode: Celtic Holy Men

***

Gildas - De Excidio - http://www.vortigernstudies.org.uk/arthist/vortigernquotesgil.htm
Nennius - Historia Brittonum - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1972/1972-h/1972-h.htm
Concepts of Arthur - http://www.arthuriana.co.uk/concepts/

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Join me on the waves around Tintagel as we discuss the kingdom that arose in Cornwall in the 5th century and, rather than becoming German or British decided to adopt a distinctly continental identity.

We also uncover the nature of trade in pre-capitalist societies and try and acknowledge some of the biases we bring to our interpretations of the past.

Next episode: Who Was King Arthur?

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In this one-off Christmas special, a fellow archaeology student - Grace - and I chat about a few things from the history of Christmas, including the medieval and pagan origins, as well as how it would have felt at a Medieval Christmas.

Next episode: The Kings of Tintagel

***
Other content mentioned in the show:

Modern History TV: https://modernhistory.tv/
British History Podcast: https://www.thebritishhistorypodcast.com/
History of Rome: https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/

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This month we visit Birdoswald Roman Fort to learn what happened to forts on Hadrian's Wall after the Romans abandoned them.

This is a slightly different episode, in that, rather than leading with a story into archaeological evidence or capturing archaeological evidence in a story, or ditching the story altogether, this entire episode is made up of three different stories. I can't wait to hear what you all think.

Next episode: The Kings of Tintagel

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The first proper episode of Season Two. Today we do a mad run through Roman Britain.

Were the Romans good for Britain? Were they terrible?

Let's find out.

Next episode: Chieftans in the Fort

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Season Two has arrived...

The Saxons are coming...

And so are the British, the Picts, the Vikings, the Franks and, finally, the Normans. This is our prelude to season 2 - a high-level overview of what happens in the years between the fall of Rome and the Battle of Hastings. We talk story, theory, the problem of documents and explain how our series will be structured. Everything that comes next is going to make a whole lot of sense once you listen to this episode!

Next episode: Season 2, Episode 1: Britain Under Rome

See Helena's artwork: https://www.instagram.com/helenamaxwellart/


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In our third interview, we speak to Professor David Petts. He is a specialist in the Early Medieval Period of Britain. We reminisce about Binchester, talk about his latest excavations on Lindisfarne and begin to talk about the joys and frustrations about loving a period commonly called 'The Dark Ages'.

Find out more about David here: https://durham.academia.edu/DavidPetts

Learn about DigVentures here: https://digventures.com/projects/lindisfarne/

See Helena's artwork: https://www.instagram.com/helenamaxwellart/

Next episode: Introduction to the Early Medieval Period

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In our second interview, we speak to Dr Ed Caswell. He is a specialist in the Bronze Age of North-Western Europe and we cover the highs and lows of archaeology and dig into what life was like in the Bronze Age.

Find out more about Dr Ed here: https://durham.academia.edu/EdwardCaswell

And discover some of Ben Robert's articles here: https://durham.academia.edu/BenjaminRoberts

Find out more about the Portable Antiquity Scheme here: https://finds.org.uk/

See Helena's artwork: https://www.instagram.com/helenamaxwellart/

Next episode: An Interview with Dr David Petts

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Walk with me through the Avebury landscape. Imagine along with me what it might have been like to live in the world of those who made such a special place.

For the first time ever, this entire episode is one long story.

I hope you enjoy

-- Andy --

Next episode: An Interview with an Archaeologist #2: Dr Ed Caswell

Listen to A Moment of Your Time, feat. Andy Earnshaw: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/56-old-bones-by-andy-earnshaw/id1487198778?i=1000477155794

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This is our first interview! It's a little bit different from our normal programming. We're speaking to Heather, a specialist in artefacts with a fascination with all things Roman and Egyptian.

Find out more about Heather here: https://finds.org.uk/counties/cheshire/author/hbeeton/

Her Twitter Feed: twitter.com/FLOChe_GM_MSY

Find out more about the Portable Antiquity Scheme here: https://finds.org.uk/

See Helena's artwork: https://www.instagram.com/helenamaxwellart/

Visit Ally's Show: https://russophilesunite.podbean.com/

Next episode: A Walk Around Avebury Henge

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We've covered a lot in the last few months. Today we ask the questions: what have we learnt from all that archaeology? Does the past have anything left to teach us in the modern world?

Unsurprisingly, I think the past does have some things to teach us. In this episode, we'll discuss the role of religion in society and how societies to change. We'll see what happened in prehistory and what that means for today.

Let's get philosophical.

Next episode: An Interview with an Archaeologist

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Our last episode of season one takes us to Cheshire where, in the 1980s, two workmen stumbled upon a corpse, 2000 years old, marked with many baffling wounds. Theories and rumour swirled as to the cause of these injuries. 35 years later, Lindow Man still prompts debate amongst archaeologists: was he murdered, executed... sacrificed?

This episode focuses on human sacrifice and the role of druids in Late Iron Age Britain.

Next episode: Season One: An Epilogue

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