Anglo-Saxon culture and the Silk Road

I have quite often written about evidence for the interrelated patterns of trade and cultural contact that bound Anglo-Saxon England not only to Europe but the Near East and indeed to territories beyond. 

This is brought out splendidly in a beautifully illustrated and informative article from Current Archaeology and available on The Past website. It is based around the current British Museum exhibition Silk Road which has  drawn together a spectacular array of exhibits from across the British Isles and across the world. The article also draws on the most recent research and paint an impressive picture of remarkable cultural interaction in the period. The idea of Anglo-Saxon mercenaries returning to England with the latest fashion ideas for military man from Byzantium Is both visually and also mentally stimulating. The striking thought that the cloisonné work with garnets that we associate with Sutton Hoo is part of a shared tradition that extended as far east as Korea is fascinating, but also perfectly credible once the evidence is presented. 

The article can been at From Samarkand to Sutton Hoo: Exploring the impact of the Silk Roads on early medieval Britain and Ireland  

An Anglo-Saxon replica of a gold solidus of Emperor Honorius

My friend Adrian Marsden, who is the numismatist with the Norfolk Historic Environment Service, and often involved in identifying coins found by treasure hunters, was back on the BBC News website yesterday with an interesting find.

This was an Anglo-Saxon replica of a gold solidus issued by the Emperor Honorius. It is not a forged coin but a copy as it includes a suspension loop. Roman coins were clearly prized as personal jewellery or talismans in the centuries after the Western Empire disintegrated and this quite skilful copy in gold shows that there was a market for such copies.

The piece was found in a field at Attleborough in southern central Norfolk and not in connection with other items of specie. Whether it was lost, or has been moved over the centuries by ploughing, or if it had once been buried with its owner is unknown. It is however a further insight into the post-Roman world of Anglo-Saxon settlers and their  sense of Roman civilisation as it crumbled around them.

The illustrated article can be seen at Anglo-Saxon coin pendant found at Attleborough is 'very unusual'