THE PAST IN THE PAST: THE REUSE OF ROMAN OBJECTS IN EARLY ANGLO-SAXON SOCIETY c. AD 400 – c. 700

This thesis examines and analyses the reuse of Roman portable material culture in pre-conversion Anglo-Saxon grave assemblages dating between AD 400 and 700. In total 908 curated Roman objects were recorded from 65 cemeteries across the modern English counties of Kent, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk. The Introduction provides a general overview of the historical context of Anglo-Saxon England and the end of the Roman Empire. Chapter 2 is concerned with the methodology and data collection which was carried out to compile this data. The third chapter gives an outline of the existing theoretical framework on curated Roman material in Anglo Saxon contexts. A general overview of all collated Roman objects gathered for this study is given in chapter 4. Each object type is examined according to its nature, chronology, purpose, social intent and circulation patterns. The relationship between Roman ruins and Anglo-Saxon cemeteries is also discussed. Chapters 5 - 7 analyse the objects within their archaeological contexts and in relation to the body. Chapter 5 engages with items found in concealed circumstances, such as in bags and wooden boxes, while chapter 6 discusses items which were openly displayed on the body as personal adornments, jewellery and costume accessories. Chapter 7 examines objects which were not found as part of the costume, but in the fill or placed beside the body. The focus of these thematic chapters is to critically engage with the different ways Roman objects were used in Anglo-Saxon funerary ritual. Chapter 8 contextualises the findings by drawing on the continental evidence for Roman object reuse. Chapter 9 discusses the findings of the previous chapters, setting them into context with existing theoretical frameworks on the early medieval world with emphasis on chronology, regionality, the body and the impact of Christianity in the 7th century.