Site Wrestle 4: Anglo-Saxon Cemetery
Added 2021-02-11 10:37:17 +0000 UTCAs the Site Wrestle continues, it's now Helen Geake's turn to present a site that she would like to explore further – an Anglo-Saxon burial ground in the East of England. But what will the rest of the team make of it?
It's worth noting that we are currently listening in on the introductory conversations of an ongoing process. As a result, the teams' views and score ratings are based purely on early impressions (well, ok, proximity to a decent pub, in John's case).
As always, ideas and assumptions from each team member will be challenged and tested by their colleagues, and sometimes a session will come out with more questions than answers. But that's ok! We embrace the uncertainties at this stage to help inform the process as it develops.
This particular site poses some very interesting questions...
Comments
Helen's instincts are ones I'd follow too, like Stewart's. We know so little about Anglo-Saxon era. Anything that can be thrown at it is a good thing.
Larissa Spiker
2021-03-17 20:35:59 +0000 UTCThis is a fascinating site for a number of reasons. First, this is a fresh, unexcavated site which will offer insight into the community and people living there. Most interesting to me, is how women are "embodied" via the burial items in this early cemetery. I've always been perplexed why women buried with "bling" (and even swords!) are discounted as "high status wives" vs important leaders of the community. Maybe it's time to discover if there is a blind spot when it comes to the past/archeology and women. This might be an opportunity to examine how women lived, how they might have been leaders in their own right (without the requirement of marriage), and how their "status" might have been positioned within the cemetery layout itself during this Anglo-Saxon era. In fact, I would CELEBRATE episodes that investigated/excavated sites where matriarchal communities thrived (the Goddess) prior to the dominion of the patriarchy. Would be a fascinating 'question' to pursue. 🙂
Patti McCarthy
2021-02-19 03:21:54 +0000 UTC
