7A
lot of what we know about the arrival of
the Angles, Saxons, and other people to
Britain in the fifth century comes from
archaeology. There are many cemeteries
and settlements with “Anglo-Saxon”material
culturefrom the early fifth centuryC.E. onward,
such as the cremation cemetery at Spong Hill in
Norfolk County and the settlement at Mucking
in southern Essex County with its nearby burial
grounds. But no records written by these people have
survived. So, we have many questions that only
archaeology can answer. For example: How many
people actually came? Was it families, with mothers
and children and grandparents, or was it mostly
men? What happened to the people already living
in Britain? Did they manage to live with their new
neighbors, or were they forced out of their homes?
It’s Complicated!
The tricky part of trying to answer these questions is
that most of what archaeologists recover from this
period looks distinctly “Anglo-Saxon.” The finds are
mostly items that were new to Britain in the fifth
century and are very similar to objects found in
northern Europe. In contrast, very few Roman-style
artifacts survived in Britain past the early decades of
the fifth century. At the time, people in Britain were
unable to buy Roman objects easily. So they recycled
what they did have, instead of burying the objects
with their loved ones. This lack of “Romano-British”
material culture in the fifth century makes it more
difficult to identify where and when the people who
were using the objects lived.
Some scholars argue that the people who were
living in Britain were quickly replaced by a flood of
immigrants from Europe. Others suggest
that the elites in Britain were replaced by
new rulers from the continent. They say
that the adoption of Anglo-Saxon
culture was an attempt by the people to
gain favor with their new leaders. The
most likely theory, however, is that the
migration of people from the continent
to the island was slower than we think,
with fewer people at a time. Women and
children, as well as men, came, and
migration was not limited to the middle
of the fifth century. People moved, with
families, friends, or by themselves, over a
much longer period.It’s in the Teeth and Bones
Some of the most convincing evidence
for this long-term migration to Britain
comes not from artifacts, but from the
stable isotopes in the skeletons of people
from this time period. Stable isotopes are
found all around us in nature. They are
different forms of the elements on theMaterial culture is a term used to describe the objects produced by human beings.
These include buildings, tools, weapons, utensils, furniture, and art.Here’s a view inside a Saxon
crypt in central England that
was used by the royal family
of Mercia in the eighth and
ninth centuries.