Quern Tastic!

The Roman Age farmstead has been ploughed – deep ploughed — VERY deep ploughed, and so I took my Garrett over there last weekend. Whilst I picked up lots of good signals, because the soil has yet to be harrowed (flattened), finding the source of the signals was too problematical so I will have to wait a few more weeks.

There was the usual good scattering of Roman Age pottery however, though I didn’t retrieve any as CAFG want to do some grid field walking in the near future so if I started picking up more pottery one of two things would happen:

1) I would spoil the analysis of the field walking
2) I would need to build an extension on my house to house even more “stuff”

So, with no serious chance of finding any metal finds, and not picking up pottery I was a bit dejected, then I noticed an unusually large stone. Upon picking it up it was immediately obvious that the stone was another example from the site of a rotary quern, this time made from “local” Puddlingstone. There is a brief synopsis here of the material itself: Puddlingstone

As mentioned this is the second rotary quern fragment from the same site so as you can imagine I was delighted to add this to my collection and to have more evidence of the site to display. A rotary quern was a small hand-mill used to grind grain into flour. Rotary querns consist of two circular stones: grain was poured into a central hole in the top stone, which was then turned with a wooden handle. The grain would get crushed between the two stones as the upper stone was turned, and emerge from between the two as a coarse flour.

Rotary querns first appear in the archaeological record in the Iron Age and then continue in various guises right through the medieval period. As the rise of more “mechanical” milling methods developed household milling went by the way side.

So here they are:

Quern 1 – is made of a material I am not certain how to describe. It is grey in colour and appears to contain copious amounts of silica. I need to find out where it could have been mined as it would make a fascinating study to try and work out how it came to be in Everesden. As the photo shows the pouring hole through the centre is clear to see and the lower face is of course much smoother than the exterior, made so by the constant action of grinding.

Quern 2 – is the Puddlingstone example which according to my research is from Hertfordshire. Again the grinding face is very smooth and the pouring hole clear to see.

What is even more interesting is that according to the the research I have done similar querns found in neighboring Essex appear to have remained use for around 25 years a piece. Other authors believe the querns were very closely associated with the role of the woman in society and, when she died her quern would be ceremoniously smashed in two and disposed of either around her dwelling or even taken out to a remote field and a “burial” ceremony conducted.

All I can tell you is they are wonderful objects to look at and to hold, so utilitarian, so real – they really bring the period to life in a way coins and pottery doesn’t seem to manage.

What keeps you going in the rain and cold….

….one day(?)

Quiet!

To my regular visitors and those of you hoping to find more updates I apologize for the tardiness in my posts of late, the truth be told I have been out and have more Roman Age evidence in some new fields between Gt Eversden and Kingston, as well as some medieval pot and some possible prehistoric flint waste flakes. Most exciting of all has been another Roman (?) hand turned quern stone – the second from the same site. I will photograph and publish this and the other one I have found shortly. However with the fields in the best state for walking and detecting all of my free time is being taken with “getting out and about”, publishing just like a real archaeologist (!) comes later…..stick in there and keep coming back!

Anglo Saxon GOLD!

Just imagine the thrill……http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/24/anglo-saxon-treasure-hoard-gold-staffordshire-metal-detector

Bombs Away!

DR’s fields always turn up some interesting items; short cross pennies, crotal bells and buttons galore, but on my first outing on his field to the west of Wimpole Road this year I got a surprise when I uncovered the tail end of what looks like a German WWII Incendiary Bomb:

Inside of the end of the bomb the soil contained a burnt ash substance, hence I have included it in the photo graphs above. Researching the exact model of incendiary device is proving problematical, but I will keep trying and update this page when I know more. What is interesting is that the report of the Dornier Do 217E-4 which was shot down over Gt. Eversden on the 8th September 1942, mentions it was heading away from random bombing attacks on Cambridge…perhaps this is one of incendiary bombs it was dropping?

To read more on the Dornier Attack follow this link:http://www.eversden.plus.com/dornier08.htm

Snot Saxon :-(

Ahhh well the quest continues….the very helpful people at the UK Finds Database confirmed that my proposed Saxon Harness mount turns out to be a circa 1200 – 1350 Casket Mounting. A very similar example can be seen here:

http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ukdfddata/showrecords.php?product=16740

Ahhh well - I will find the Anglo Saxons one day...

UKFD post a very good summary of what the object is and what it was used for:

A two-part combined strap-end mount and fastener. It consists of a decorative front plate and a functional back plate, fastened together by two diametrically opposed copper-alloy rivets. The cast front plate has an umbonate centre around which there is a circle of ten holes and ten peripheral knops, the overall effect being that of a stylised flower. The back plate is probably of sheet metal, and is plain except that the profile is shaped to match the front plate, and there is a keyhole-shaped cut-out at the centre.

There has been much discussion about the purpose of these objects, but the present writer’s opinion is that they are casket/chest fasteners. The two examples cited below are of different shape and decoration, but they are constructionally and functionally identical. The second of them was found with a fragment of leather sandwiched between the plates, so there is no doubt that they were attached to leather. The connection with use on a casket/chest is strongly suggested by an object illustrated in the MoL publication, The Medieval Household (Fig.50, No.150). It is a roundel of almost identical design to the front plate of the present mount, but it forms part of a larger casket fitting and is not fitted with a back plate. The two types of object could well be used as en-suite fittings. The keyhole cut-out would be stretched over a fixed stud on the casket to hold the lid closed. The MoL fitting was recovered from ceramic phase 7-9 (c.1200-1350).

Whilst it is disappointing not to get confirmation of my Anglo Saxon forebears in the village,  this find does reinforce the gathering evidence for early medieval occupation to the immediate NW and W of the village church, which until I started prodding around was not understood or recorded….upwards and onwards!

First Saxon Evidence….?

Obviously, like every other detectorist and probably every British archaeologist, I long for the day when I can find definitive evidence of Anglo Saxon occupation – some clear pottery scatters perhaps or a yummy Saxon Sceat, or a Sutton Hoo-esque brooch or purse lid….however in the parish to-date I have found no definitive evidence what-s0-ever.

This is really frustrating as I know there was a major Saxon Tribe or Clan close by in Haslingfield – that is where the village takes its name from for example – “Fields of the Haeslinga”. There was even a significant Saxon cemetery excavated off of Canteloupe Road in the late 19th Century…so there must have been a sizable population in and around that village. The question that I have is where the dickens our Eversdens Saxons were living and farming….

I would imagine that the village Church, first recorded in 1092, would likely have been the focal point of the village so my investigations for our Saxon friends has concentrated around there, but their archaeological record is proving harder to find than I hoped. I may have found one clue however….

In the fallow field to the west of the Church and close by the boundary to the recreation ground I turned up the item pictured below….

...first evidence of Saxons in Great Eversden?

Now, I admit it doesn’t look like much but when you compare it to strap distributor posted on the UK Finds Database and attributed to the late Saxon early Norman period (c. 11th Century) , the decorative styling looks identical, namely punched rings and dots around a central boss:

...look at the decoration and compare to my example...

It is not to much of a stretch in the  imagination to see the similarities between my find and that recorded from a fellow detectorist working in the Romney Marshes area in Kent. But is it Saxon? I guess I will have to ask the experts at County Hall to have a gander at the piece, but I have to say…if it is Saxon….I will be one happy hunter!

Victorian Medallion

You see, what fascinates me about this hobby is the complete randomness of what one will uncover next…One minute one is tripping over Roman Quern Stones, the next minute one is digging up a Medieval buckle. Today for example I nipped out around St Mary’s Church trying to locate any coins or artefacts that may have been dropped on an old footpath that no longer exists. After an hour of completely fruitless searching ( I don’t count plough fragments and Tizer cans as worthy of too much attention), I got a strong copper signal on my Garrett 550 and starting to dig…what popped out was remarkable:

You never know whats going to pop up!

Now, I must admit what I would like to have found was perhaps a golden torc or a Saxon brooch, or another hammered silver coin…but this little piece of history is rich and valuable in it own right. The reverse legend is surprisingly verbose:

“In commemoration of the visit of their Royal Highnesses The Prince & Princess of Wales to the Metropolitan & City Police Orphanage Twickenham on July 8^th 1882”.

This visit is well recorded in the London Illustrated News:

The Prince and Princess of Wales on Saturday last opened the newly-built wing of the Metropolitan and City Police Orphanage, at Strawberry Hill, Twickenham; and the Princess afterwards distributed the prizes to the deserving children of the school. This institution was founded by the efforts of Colonel Sir Edmund Henderson, Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, seconded by those of Colonel Fraser, C.B., Chief of the City Police. Their Royal Highnesses were received by a distinguished company, amongst whom were the Marquis and Marchioness of Bath, Lady Burdett-Coutts, and the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress. Mr. Howard Vincent, on behalf of the board of managers; of which he is chairman, read an address of welcome to the Prince and Princess. In this it was stated that the institution provided for the maintenance, education, and start in life of 150 boys and 100 girls, and that of the police themselves 11,960 officers and constables subscribed to its funds. The Prince of Wales, in declaring the new wing open, remarked that no body of men deserved support and appreciation more than the Metropolitan and City police. Though their number was increasing, the force was small in comparison with the enormous and ever-increasing population of the great city of London. The Prince further expressed his satisfaction at the favourable report of the school by her Majesty’s inspector, and cordially wished prosperity to an institution which he considered one of the most valuable and important in the kingdom. The interesting act of presenting the prizes, which is shown in our Illustration, was performed by her Royal Highness. The children, to the number of 250, assembled in a marquee, sang “God Bless the Prince of Wales.” The new part of the building, which has cost about £4,200, is to include boys’, girls’, and infant class-rooms. In the boys’ room there was an exhibition of art and handicraft, promoted by Mr. Howard Vincent with it view to give profitable employment to men of the force in their leisure hour. The articles exhibited including several drawings and paintings of merit, and a number of objects displaying skill, ingenuity, and taste. Superintendents Green, Digby, Foster, and Harris, the head master, the matron, and the head mistress had the honour of being presented to their Royal Highnesses, who passed through the grounds, noticing the children’s gardens, as they left the institution.

The Prince and Princess afterwards went to Fortescue House, Twickenham, and there opened a bazaar in aid of the National Refuges for Homeless and Destitute Children, and of the Arethusa and Chichester training-ships.

Source: The Illustrated London News, No.2254—Vol. LXXXI, Saturday, July 15, 1882, p.58

Indeed there is even a picture of the Princess of Wales handing out awards to the children of the Orphanage.

Twickenham 1882

The questions such a find creates are legion…did a child from the Orphanage make it up to the Eversdens in the late Victorian Period…who were they, what was his or her name? Was someone of notable standing present at the ceremony and received a keep sake of the event? Are other such tokens recorded anywhere? How rare is the find….So many avenues to explore all from one small find…amazing isn’t it?!

Metropolitan & City Police Orphanage Twickenham on July 8th 1882

Medieval Purse Bars

I am getting out and about a bit more now and my study is starting to look a bit like Steptoe and Son’s front room! There are pieces of “crunge” as we call it here, all over the place, so before I start collecting even more of the stuff I thought I had better do a bit of a tidy up, photograph and publish the odds and sods that I have found recently.

First up then, are two Medieval Purse Bar fragments, both made of a copper alloy and probably dating from anywhere between late 14th to the mid 16th century. It is unfortunate then the two fragments are so small as it makes dating them precisely very difficult, however, my research suggests this date range wouldn’t be too far wrong.

Medieval Purse Bar Fragments

The top one was found to the south of the Church in Great Eversden, whilst the lower one was found on DR’s farm to the NW of Wimpole Way.

Purses were generally suspended from belts during the medieval period, and essentially were simple leather or cloth bags gathered at the neck. “Purse Snatchers” must have had a simple time of it, as a sharp knife would simply have cut the suspension cords and dropped the purse in to a waiting hand….As the illustration below shows purses of this style were worn by men and clearly everybody who was anybody had a purse! I might try and bring the fashion back….maybe not

Everybody should have a purse!

Ploughing…..

I’m back from our family holiday in Umbria and Tuscany and and keen to get started on some more field walking and detecting, however some of the fields I have my eye on have yet to be ploughed and some during my short absence have already been ploughed and even planted with next years crops! That said I have identified some interesting crop marks in and around Barton and I want to return to some known hot-spots….patience…patience.

I did get out last Sunday and turned up a Victorian Half Penny from 1870, a three penny bit (being cleaned, no date yet) and some odd bits of recent (?) copper…but nothing too interesting.

Keep watching though….with this hobby you never know….