17poorly made. The decoration is usually very simple
and unevenly applied, suggesting that the artisan
— or artisans — never practiced enough to become
skilled at the art. Another possibility is that the
pots were made poorly on purpose, as they were for
burials. The Anglo-Saxons in Britain do not seem
to have had much of a tradition of pottery. The few
pots that are adorned with animal-related designs
clearly copied common designs that are seen in
some of the preserved metal brooches. The same
designs may have adorned woodcarvings and
textiles, but these have not survived.Burials during the period when the Romans
occupied Britain were often even simpler, with
no grave goods. This fact suggests that the Anglo-
Saxons in Britain continued to use the burial practices
from their homelands in Germany. Excavations there
have uncovered almost identical burials and brooch
styles. However, it is unclear if the buried traced their
ancestry to Germanic immigrants or to people who
were Roman-British and merely adopted new customs.Karen Brush received her Ph.D. in Early Medieval Archaeology from
Cambridge University.FUN FACT
Chatelaines are sets of
short chains attached to a
woman’s belt. There are
few, if any, chains
preserved. At burial sites,
archaeologists have found
collections of small iron
picks and “keys” with loops
for hanging, sometimes
with a larger ring (that is,
one from which the picks
and/or keys hung), near
women’s hips/waists. The
archaeologists refer to
these as chatelaines. The
word “chatelaine” is also
used to refer to a woman in
charge of a large house.Don’t miss this reconstruction of an
Anglo-Saxon burial if you are visiting
the Ipswich Museum in Suffolk,
England. INSET OPPOSITE: These
beautiful pieces of gold jewelry were
uncovered at Anglo-Saxon burial sites.