The dress fittings and other grave goods were broadly typical of 6th century East Anglia and fell into several familiar types:
Morning ThorpeThe Morning Thorpe cemetery, as excavated, consisted of over 300 burials of 6th to 7th century date the majority of the burials were inhumations, there were also nine cremations.Spong HillThe only completely excavated cemetery, the site at Spong Hill actually consisted of two cemeteries, a large cremation cemetery and a smaller, 6th century, cemetery of fifty-seven inhumations. It is the latter which is considered here. Several of the graves were covered by small barrows and others were marked by the use of coffins.Westgarth GardensWestgarth Gardens produced sixty-five graves of 6th to 7th century date Although small, the group's importance was enhanced by the unusually high quality of the surviving bone. The numbers of swords and two glass vessels indicated that a proportion of the inhumations had enjoyed some form of special status.High status burials are not common. Some very large wood-lined graves have been found, and there are occasionally burials in boats such as a canoe at Snape and the large clinker-built boat at Sutton Hoo. A few individuals appear to have been buried in beds, examples of which have been excavated at Swallowcliffe Down (Wiltshire), Barrington (Cambridgeshire) and Coddenham (Suffolk). The basic rite of the Anglo-Saxons, whether cremated or inhumed, was probably very similar, with a fully clothed and equipped corpse being consigned either to the flames or to the earth. Again the earlier tradition of grave goods seems to indicate that the living held a view of the other world being very much like the living one. Wealth was expected to hold sway in very much the same way and the dead would need the same tools as they did in life. |
Middle Saxon (1350-1150 years ago)By this period Christianity had largely overcome pagan religion in England, and burials reflect this.Examples of excavated Middle Saxon cemeteries include Caister-by-Yarmouth, Burgh Castle and Brandon. Smaller groups of this period have been found in Ipswich. Changes in burial customs may not be directly related to Christian beliefs - there are no decrees on the method of burial from this time. Wealth which was previously placed in the grave may instead have been given to the church. East-west burial was common in pre-Christian cemeteries and may simply have been adopted because it was the same as the orientation of the church. The rationale behind it - facing Christ at the Last Judgement - may be a later tradition. Late Saxon to Early Medieval (1150-800 years ago)This period is a transitional one between essentially Saxon traditions and the changes brought first by the Scandinavian invaders and settlers, and later by the Norman hierarchy.Some Scandinavian settlers appear to have continued with their pagan burial traditions, but in general burial practices were largely Christian and by this period most people were buried in cemeteries associated with minster and parish churches. There was an increase in monastic foundations, and some lay people began to seek burial within these holy places. Several secular cemeteries of this date have been excavated. In the south-west of England, cist grave cemeteries continued, but by the 9th century over most of England, burial in a churchyard was the norm. For example, at Raunds, Northamptonshire, a 10th-11th century graveyard was excavated. All graves were aligned east-west with heads to the west, and there were no grave goods. Most were in simple earth graves, but some had slabs of limestone at the head or feet, a few had wooden coffins, and six had lidded stone coffins. The general lack of Viking graves in the Danelaw area suggests assimilation into the native culture. Continuance in the Norse areas (Man, Cumbria) suggests assertion of dominance over the local populace. |
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