The crannog on Llangorse Lake near Brecon in mid Wales was discovered in 1867 and first excavated in 1869 by two local antiquaries, Edgar and Henry Dumbleton, who published their findings over the next four years. In 1988 dendrochronological dates from submerged palisade planks established its construction in the ninth century, and a combined off- and on-shore investigation of the site was started as a joint project between Cardiff University and Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales. The subsequent surveys and excavation (1989-1994, 2004) resulted in the recovery of a remarkable time capsule of life in the late ninth and tenth century, on the only crannog yet identified in Wales. This publication re-examines the early investigations, describes in detail the anatomy of the crannog mound and its construction, and the material culture found. The crannog’s treasures include early medieval secular and religious metalwork, evidence for manufacture, the largest depository of early medieval carpentry in Wales and a remarkable richly embroidered silk and linen textile which is fully analysed and placed in context. The crannog’s place in Welsh history is explored, as a royal llys (‘court’) within the kingdom of Brycheiniog, as well as its subsequent significance of the crannog in local traditions and its post-medieval occupation during a riotous dispute in the reign Elizabeth I. The cultural affinities of the crannog and its material culture is assessed, as are their relationship to origin myths for the kingdom, and to probable links with early medieval Ireland. The folk tales associated with the lake are explored, in a book that brings together archaeology, history, myths and legends, underwater and terrestrial archaeology.

The island of Sicily is at the heart of the Mediterranean and from ancient times to the present day it has been a hub of migration and settlement. Following on from the British Museum’s critically acclaimed 2016 exhibition Sicily: culture and conquest, this volume considers the history and material culture of the different peoples occupying Sicily at key points in the island’s history. Part I concentrates on ancient Sicily during the time of Greek settlement, exploring themes such as the creation of urban centres during this period and the production of Sicilian terracotta between the 5th and 4th centuries BC. In Part II, the focus shifts to the Middle Ages, Sicily’s period of enlightenment under Muslim and Norman rules, with key themes including Norman identity and the use of the Norman legacy in the 19th century. With contributions from international experts in the field, the volume presents new insights into the economy, architecture and social identity of the island, including research on recently excavated sites. The result is a rich collection of essays that provides a comprehensive overview of this cosmopolitan island’s unique identity and its significance in a wider Mediterranean context.

In ganz Europa bestimmten Burgen im hohen und späten Mittelalter die Herrschaftspraxis. Doch während dies in zahlreichen Regionen hinreichend Beachtung findet, wurde das südliche Jütland bislang weder von der Regionalgeschichts- noch von der Burgenforschung als Burgenlandschaft wahrgenommen. Dabei vermitteln Ortsnamen wie Sønderborg, Wallanlagen wie etwa in Tørning und nicht zuletzt Schlossanlagen wie Gottorf, dessen Ursprung auf eine mittelalterliche Burg zurückgeht, noch heute einen lebhaften Eindruck von der einstigen Bedeutung derartiger Anlagen. Im Rahmen seines von 2014 bis 2018 an der Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel durchgeführten Forschungsvorhabens beschäftigte sich der Verfasser umfassend mit diesem Phänomen, und legt mit diesem Buch nun erstmals eine wissenschaftliche Studie zu den bislang kaum beachteten Burgen zwischen Eider und Kongeå vor. Auf einer Mikroebene werden Informationen zu den einzelnen Anlagen beiderseits der deutsch-dänischen Grenze aus verschiedenen Fachdisziplinen wie der Geschichtswissenschaft und Mittelalterarchäologie gesammelt, kritisch evaluiert und miteinander in Verbindung gesetzt. Die einzelnen Fallbeispiele werden anschließend auf einer Makroebene in ihren räumlichen und historischen Kontexten verortet. Die Arbeit orientiert sich dabei an jüngeren Tendenzen der internationalen Burgenforschung, welche die soziale Komplexität, landschaftliche Einbettung und funktionale Vielfalt der Burgen betonen. Insbesondere durch eine innovative Strukturierung in verschiedene Funktionstypen ergeben sich vollkommen neue methodische Zugänge zu den Burgen dieses Raumes. Das Werk bildet insgesamt sieben Evolutionsphasen dieser historischen Burgenlandschaft ab, von den einfachen Anfängen des 12. Jahrhunderts bis zu den herrschaftlich komplexen und vielfältigen Strukturen des 15. Jahrhunderts. Es wird deutlich, dass zwar jede der insgesamt 58 nachweisbaren Burgen für sich betrachtet werden muss, diese jedoch nur in ihren historischen und landschaftlichen Bezügen sinnvoll gedeutet werden können. Somit versteht sich der Band als wichtiger Beitrag für ein differenzierteres Verständnis dieses vielschichtigen Herrschaftsraumes, der zugleich einen Referenzrahmen für weitere Untersuchungen bietet und die Region als Burgenlandschaft in der überregionalen Forschung platziert. English abstract Castles had a lasting influence on the practice of reign during the high and late Middle Ages throughout Europe. While this has received considerable attention for many regions, southern Jutland has not yet been perceived as a castle landscape neither by regional historians nor by castle research, although toponyms such as Sønderborg, ramparts like Tørning and palaces such as Gottorf, whose origin goes back to a medieval castle, still provides a vivid impression of the once important role played by such castles. From 2014 to 2018, the author conducted a research project at Kiel University on this phenomenon. With this book, he now presents the first comprehensive study of the castles between Eider and Kongeå, which have received little attention so far. On a micro-level, information on the individual structures on both sides of the German-Danish border from various disciplines such as history and medieval archaeology is compiled, critically evaluated and interconnected. The individual case studies are then placed in their spatial and historical contexts on a micro-level. The work is primarily inspired by the latest trends in international castle research, which emphasize the social complexity, landscape embedding and functional diversity of castles. Especially an innovative classification into different function types allows for completely new methodological approaches to the castles of this region. The book illustrates a total of seven evolutionary phases of this historical castle landscape, from the humble beginnings of the 12th century to the manorially complex and diverse structures of the 15th century. While it is evident that each of these 58 verifiable castles must be examined individually, they can only be meaningfully understood within their historical and landscape contexts. The volume thus sees itself as an important contribution to a more differentiated understanding of this complex territory, providing a frame of reference for further investigations and establishing the region as a castle landscape in supra-regional research.

Crafts and Social Networks in Viking Towns explores the interface between craft, communication networks, and urbanisation in Viking-Age northern Europe. Viking-period towns were the hubs of cross-cultural communication of their age, and innovations in specialised crafts provide archaeologists with some of the best evidence for studying this communication. The integrated results presented in these papers have been made possible through the sustained collaboration of a group of experts with complementary insights into individual crafts. Results emerge from recent scholarly advances in the study of artefacts and production: first, the application of new analytical techniques (e.g. metallographic, isotopic, and biomolecular techniques) and second, the shift in interpretative focus from a concern with object function to considerations of processes of production, and of the social agency of technology. Furthermore, the introduction of social network theory and actor-network theory has redirected attention toward the process of communication, and highlighted the significance of material culture in the learning and transmission of cultural knowledge, including technology. The volume brings together leading UK and Scandinavian archaeological specialists to explore crafted products and workshop-assemblages from Viking towns, in order to clarify how such long-range communication worked in pre-modern northern Europe. Contributors assess the implications for our understanding of early towns and the long-term societal change catalysed by them, including the initial steps towards commercial economies. Results are analysed in relation to social network theory, social and economic history, and models of communication, setting an agenda for further research. The volume provides a landmark statement on our knowledge of Viking-Age craft and communication.

Osteoarchaeology is a rich field for reconstructing past lives in that it can provide details on sex, age-at-death, stature, and pathology in conjunction with the cultural, social, and economic aspects of the person’s environment and burial conditions. While osteoarchaeological research is common in the Low Countries, many of the studies done on the excellent skeletal collections remain unpublished and therefore unavailable to a larger audience. Following on the Urban Graveyards volumes, Osteoarchaeology in Historical Context contributes to the dissemination of cemetery research in the Low Countries. Several important skeletal collections are examined in their historical contexts to better understand past living and dying. Osteoarchaeological data are combined with information on burial location, orientation, and grave goods. In doing so, this volume expands our knowledge of contextual cemetery research in the Low Countries and serves as a starting point for comparative research.

This volume combines a comprehensive exploration of all vessel glass from middle and late Anglo-Saxon England and a review of the early glass with detailed interpretation of its meaning and place in Anglo-Saxon society. Analysis of a comprehensive dataset of all known Anglo-Saxon vessel glass of middle Anglo-Saxon date as a group has enabled the first quantification of form, colour, and decoration, and provided the structure for a new typological, chronological and geographical framework. The quantification and comparison of the vessel glass fragments and their attributes, and the mapping of the national distribution of these characteristics (forms, colours and decoration types), both represent significant developments and create rich opportunities for the future. The geographical scope is dictated by the glass fragments, which are from settlements located along the coast from Northumbria to Kent and along the south coast to Southampton. Seven case studies of intra-site glass distribution reveal that the anticipated pattern of peripheral disposal alongside dining waste is widespread, although exceptions exist at the monastic sites at Lyminge, Kent, and Jarrow, Tyne and Wear. Overall, the research themes addressed are the glass corpus and its typology; glass vessels in Anglo-Saxon society; and glass vessels as an economic indicator of trade and exchange. Analysis reveals new understandings of both the glass itself and the role of glass vessels in the social and economic mechanisms of early medieval England. There is currently no comprehensive work examining early medieval vessel glass, particularly the post sixth-century fragmentary material from settlements, and my monograph will fill that gap. The space is particularly noticeable when considering books on archaeological glass from England: the early medieval period is the only one with no reference volume; no recent, through and accessible source of information. The British Museum published a monograph entitled ‘Catalogue of Anglo-Saxon Glass in the British Museum’ in 2008, but as the title suggests it is a catalogue at heart, and of a collection of fifth and sixth century grave goods in a single museum. Chronologically, a volume on the subject would fill the space between various books on Roman glass from Britain and ‘Medieval glass vessels found in England c. AD 1200-1500’ by Rachel Tyson. This book on early medieval vessel glass and the contexts from which it came will also make a significant contribution to early medieval settlement studies and the archaeology of trade in this period: both are growth areas of scholarship and interest and vessel glass provides a new tool to address key debates in the field.

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.

The settlement at Bornais in the Western Isles of Scotland is one of the largest rural settlements known from the Norse period in Britain. It spans the period from the fifth to the fifteenth century AD when the Atlantic seaboard was subject to drastic changes. The islands were systematically ravaged by Viking raiders and then colonised by Norse settlers. In the following centuries the islanders were central to the emergence of the Kingdom of Man and the Isles, played a crucial role in the development of the Lordship of the Isles and were finally assimilated into the Kingdom of Scotland. This volume explores the stratigraphic sequence uncovered by the excavation of Bornais mounds 2 and 2A. The excavation of mound 2 revealed a sequence of high status buildings that span the Norse occupation of the settlement. One of these houses, constructed at the end of the eleventh century AD, was a well preserved bow-walled longhouse and the careful excavation and detailed recording of the floor layers has revealed a wealth of finds that provides invaluable insight into the activities taking place in this building. The final house in this sequence is very different in form and use, and clearly indicates the increasing Scottish influence on the region at the beginning of the thirteenth century. The excavation of mound 2A provides an insight into the less prestigious areas of the settlement and contributes a significant amount of evidence on the settlement economy. The area was initially cultivated before it became a settlement local and throughout its life a focus on agricultural activities, such as grain drying and processing, appears to have been important. In the thirteenth century the mound was occupied by a craftsman who produced composite combs, gaming pieces and simple tools. The evidence presented in this volume makes a major contribution to the understanding of Norse Scotland and the colonisation of the North Atlantic in a period of dramatic transformations.

This is the first volume describing the results of the CAUs excavations in Cambridge and it is also the first monograph ever published on the archaeology of the town. At 1.5 hectares the Grand Arcade investigations represent the largest archaeological excavation ever undertaken in Cambridge, significantly enhanced by detailed standing building recording and documentary research.

Owned by the National Trust and managed by English Heritage, Mount Grace Priory in North Yorkshire, established in 1398 and suppressed in 1539, was one of only nine successful Carthusian monasteries in England and one of the best-preserved medieval houses of that order in Europe. First excavated by Sir William St John Hope in 1896-1900 and in state guardianship since 1955 it is acknowledged as a type site for late-medieval Carthusian monasteries. The modern study of Mount Grace began in 1957 when Hope’s interpretation of the monks’ cells about the great cloister was found to be simplistic. This was followed between 1968 and 1974 by the excavation of individual monks’ cells in the west range of the great cloister and two cells in the north range, together with their gardens, areas not excavated by Hope. The examination of the monks’ cells was completed in 1985 by the excavation of the central cell of the north cloister range, together with its garden and the cloister alley outside the cell. The cultural material recovered from these cells indicated the ‘trade’ each monk practiced, predominantly the copying and binding of books. Because each cell was enclosed by high walls, the pottery and metalwork recovered could be identified to an individual monk. In 1987 English Heritage commissioned the re-excavation of two areas that had been examined by Hope, the water tower in the great cloister and the prior’s cell, refectory and kitchen in the south cloister range and the guest house in the west range of the inner court. The contrast between this semi-public area of the monastery and the monks’ cells was dramatic. Coupled with this excavation was a reappraisal of the architectural development of the monastery and reconstruction of lost structures such as the cloister alley walls and the central water tower.

Westminster Abbey contains the only surviving medieval Cosmatesque mosaics outside Italy. They comprise: the ‘Great Pavement’ in the sanctuary; the pavement around the shrine of Edward the Confessor; the saint’s tomb and shrine; Henry III’s tomb; the tomb of a royal child, and some other pieces. Surprisingly, the mosaics have never before received detailed recording and analysis, either individually or as an assemblage. This two-volume publication presents a holistic study of this outstanding group of monuments in their historical architectural and archaeological context. The shrine of St Edward is a remarkable survival, having been dismantled at the Dissolution and re-erected (incorrectly) in 1557 under Queen Mary. Large areas of missing mosaic were replaced with plaster on to which mosaic designs were carefully painted. This 16th-century fictive mosaic is unique in Britain. Conservation of the sanctuary pavement was accompanied by full archaeological recording with every piece of mosaic decoration drawn and coloured by David Neal, phase plans have been prepared, and stone-by-stone examination undertaken, petrologically identifying and recording the locations of all the materials present. It has revealed that both the pavements and tombs include a range of exotic stone types. The Cosmati study has shed fresh light on every aspect of the unique series of monuments in Westminster Abbey; this work will fill a major lacuna in our knowledge of 13th-century English art of the first rank, and will command international interest.

This latest title in the highly successful Ancient Textiles series is the first substantial monograph-length historiography of early medieval embroideries and their context within the British Isles. The book brings together and analyses for the first time all 43 embroideries believed to have been made in the British Isles and Ireland in the early medieval period. New research carried out on those embroideries that are accessible today, involving the collection of technical data, stitch analysis, observations of condition and wear-marks and microscopic photography supplements a survey of existing published and archival sources. The research has been used to write, for the first time, the ‘story’ of embroidery, including what we can learn of its producers, their techniques, and the material functions and metaphorical meanings of embroidery within early medieval Anglo-Saxon society. The author presents embroideries as evidence for the evolution of embroidery production in Anglo-Saxon society, from a community-based activity based on the extended family, to organised workshops in urban settings employing standardised skill levels and as evidence of changing material use: from small amounts of fibres produced locally for specific projects to large batches brought in from a distance and stored until needed. She demonstrate that embroideries were not simply used decoratively but to incorporate and enact different meanings within different parts of society: for example, the newly arrived Germanic settlers of the fifth century used embroidery to maintain links with their homelands and to create tribal ties and obligations. As such, the results inform discussion of embroidery contexts, use and deposition, and the significance of this form of material culture within society as well as an evaluation of the status of embroiderers within early medieval society. The results contribute significantly to our understanding of production systems in Anglo-Saxon England and Ireland.

The idea that the past was an era with long periods of little or no change is almost certainly false. Change has always affected human society. Some of the catalysts for change were exogenous and lay in natural transformations, such as climate change or plant and animal diseases. Others came from endogamous processes, such as demographic change and the resulting alterations in demographic pressure. They might be produced by economic changes in the agrarian economy such as crop- or stock-breeding or better agricultural husbandry systems with the resultant greater harvests. Equally, they might be from technological developments in industry and manufacturing affecting traditional forms of production. We should also note changes in ideology within society and even between principal groups, such as secular and ecclesiastical bodies. We need to consider the impact of politics and warfare.These innovations, transmissions and transformations had profound spatial, economic and social impacts on the environments, landscapes and habitats evident at micro-, meso- and macro-levels. Changes, alterations and modifications may affect how land was worked, how it was organized, and the nature of buildings and rural complexes (homesteads, work buildings, villages, monasteries, towns and landscapes). The authors of the 36 papers focus in particular on transmissions and transformations in a longue durée perspective, such as from early medieval times (c. 500AD) to the High Middle Ages (c. 1000/1200 AD), and from medieval to post-medieval and early modern times (1700). The case studies include the shrinking and disappearance of settlements; changes in rule and authority; developments in the agrarian economy; the shift from handwork to manufacturing; demographic change.

Until now insular and continental material, mostly metal-work, found in pagan Viking Age graves in Norway, has been interpreted as looted material from churches and monasteries on the British Isles and the Continent. The raiding Vikings brought these objects back to their homeland where they were often broken up and used as jewellery or got alternative functions. Looting or Missioning looks at the use and functions of these sacred objects in their original Christian contexts. Based on such an analysis the author proposes an alternative interpretation of these objects: they were brought by Christian missionaries from different parts of the British Isles and the Continent to Norway. The objects were either personal (crosses, croziers, portable reliquaries etc.), objects used for baptism (hanging bowls), equipment to officiate a mass (mountings from books or reading equipment, altars or crosses) or to give the communion (pitchers, glass vessels, chalices, paten). We know from contemporary sources (Ansgar in Birka, Sweden in the ninth century) that missionaries brought this sort of equipment on their mission journeys. We also hear that missionaries were robbed, killed or chased off. Mikkelson interprets the sacred objects found in Viking Age pagan graves as objects that originate from the many unsuccessful mission attempts in Norway throughout the Viking Age. They changed function and were integrated in the pagan tradition.The conversion and Christianisation of Norway can thus be seen as a long-lasting process, at least from about 800 (but probably earlier) to the beginning of the eleventh century. As we must assume that the written sources on the subject are incomplete, the archaeological evidences are the main source. In addition to metal work and written sources, the dating and interpretation of stone crosses, rune stones, manuscript fragments and early Christian graves and churches are discussed. The main part of the manuscript regards the context of all these sources, studied in each part of Norway separately: Where do we find concentrations of objects that could support the interpretation of these being the result of mission attempts, and where can we combine archaeological and written sources to tentatively create more complete stories related to mission? One analysis is of special interest to British and Norwegian scholars and even a broader audience. It refers to the chieftain Ohthere from Northern Norway, who visited King Alfred the Great in Winchester in 890. The author finds a link between Alfred´s court and Ohthere´s farm which, it is argued, for was Borg at Vestvågøy, Lofoten, where the biggest Viking Age house in Northern Europe has been excavated. In the hall of this house were found a rare glass beaker with gold cross decorations, a Continental or British made pitcher, pieces of a bronze bowl and an æstel of gold. This last piece is only found in Northern Norway and in England, with Wessex and Mercia as the core areas. “The Alfred Jewel” (Ashmolean Museum) is also an æstel of the same main type, but much more splendid and with an inscription relating it to King Alfred. Mikkelson argues for a bishop being sent from Wessex and Alfred´s court on Ohthere´s ship back to Northern Norway as a missionary.

This book is a study of the rich and fascinating traditions found early Irish literature concerning smiths and the fashioning of metal. The smith had a special status within the traditional societies of early Ireland and elsewhere in the Celtic-speaking world. The figure is associated with magic and the supernatural, as well as having special legal status, and a marginal and ambiguous position within the community. John Carey is an internationally known expert on Old Irish language and literature and includes here texts and translations of magical spells, incantations, and narratives connected with smiths and their craft.

Telling the story of the flight of the Jews from Egypt based on the biblical book of Exodus, the Haggadah was – and still is – used during the Seder, the ritual meal of the first night of Passover. The text of this remarkable manuscript has been richly illustrated by many artists in different countries for over seven hundred years. With its seventy-fi ve illustrations, occupying the margins of almost every page, this manuscript expresses the elegant language of the Gothic International style in Lombardy. Directly related to the workshop of the renowned master builder, sculptor, and illuminator Giovannino de’ Grassi, who fl ourished under the patronage of the noble Visconti family in Milan, the present volume was probably commissioned by a wealthy individual. The presumed date of origin of the Lombard Haggadah corresponds with a period known for its wave of immigration into Lombardy of northern European Jews, who were especially welcomed by Duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti. Last on public exhibition in the Paris World’s Fair in 1900, when it belonged to a French family, the Lombard Haggadah was then sold in 1927 in London to the noted collector of Hebrew manuscripts Salman Schocken. Little known, the manuscript has remained in private hands ever since. It survives as the earliest stand-alone Italian Haggadah. Of the greatest rarity, it is one of three illustrated medieval Haggadahs still privately owned. Sharon Liberman Mintz, Curator of Jewish Art, The Jewish Theological Seminary, states “I have worked with Hebrew illuminated manuscripts all of my professional life, and this one stands out for its fresh, charming, and sometimes unique paintings as well as its historical importance”.