Paul Mortimer

These files are some of the appendices to the book, 'The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England from the 5th to 7th Century' by Paul Mortimer and Matt Bunker. For reasons of space they can be dowloaded here rather than be included within the published volume.

The 7th century ship-burial at Sutton Hoo contains many enigmatic objects, none more so than a beautifully-worked stone with metal fittings. Frequently referred to as a ‘sceptre’ or ‘whetstone’, it may be neither, but it is certainly an object of cultural significance that deserves further attempts to understand it.

The techniques used in making the stone and its fittings demonstrate exceptional craftsmanship. So why were considerable resources devoted to creating it? The making of a museum quality replica stone has provided new information and fresh insights that may help us answer many of the questions that have been asked about this beautiful and puzzling object.

The techniques used in making the stone are explained, as is the geometry embedded within the overall design. There is also a critical review of the existing literature on the subject and a series of essays on aspects of Anglo-Saxon society that may be related to the making of the original stone.

I commenced this survey with the intention of testing a hypothesis that finds of sword pommels, pommel caps 1 and other sword furniture mainly during the 5 th to 7 th centuries may have not been casually or accidentally lost but deliberately removed and buried by their owners possibly as a ritual sacrifice or to distance themselves from previous owners of the sword. 2 If the number of metal detector finds were markedly fewer before the 5 th century and after the 7 th , I thought that would help to support the idea. Parts of the British Isles, particularly large sections of England, began to experience a cultural shift from the 5 th century onwards. During the 7 th century Christianity began to dominate England and again, ideas were altering. I collected data on all sword pommels from the Iron Age to the end of the 11 th century reported by metal detectorists to and published by the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) 3 and subjected the information to analysis. I have been unable to support my initial hypothesis but the exercise has resulted in some very interesting data and the intention of this paper is to share it with interested readers to take the discussion further. The collection of material is divided into three main parts; firstly the pommels from the Iron Age to the 4 th century. That is followed by information concerning pommels mostly dating from the 5 th century to the 7 th and finally the later, early medieval examples. Only the last two sets of data, 5 th to 7 th and 8 th to 11 th centuries, are brought together at the end and compared. I have also singled out one form of pommel, Petersen type L, from the later period for special treatment in Addenda 2 for reasons that I will explain there. It is not necessary to read through all the PAS numbers and associated information, they are provided so that interested readers can check the entries for themselves. Illustrations of most of the entries in the 5 th to 7 th century list can be found together on my Academia.edu page as 'Appendix 10, sword pommel detector finds' (https://www.academia.edu/). The analysis and conclusion at the end of this paper can be read without absorbing all the individual entries. Staffordshire Hoard I have not included the pommel entries for the Staffordshire Hoard within the 5th to 7th century list as the PAS entries are incomplete and they have not yet been fully published. The PAS entries were made shortly after their discovery and before conservation and are now outdated. There are now 1 The difference between pommel caps and pommels is that a pommel usually has part of the sword tang peened in the centre of the pommel, whereas a cap is decorative and fits over the true pommel and is fixed at its ends to the top of the upper guard of the hilt. 2 This possibility is discussed fully in Mortimer and Bunker 2019. Some of the finds listed here are from disturbed burials. Most are not, it seems. 3 The PAS website can be found here: https://finds.org.uk/ Finds can be viewed by using the entry number on the PAS website.

Pyramid mounts are small pyramid-shaped objects that usually have a bar on the underside for a strap to connect them to a sword scabbard. Pyramid mounts that have been located within graves in Great Britain and elsewhere are usually associated with swords and almost always are in pairs. There are exceptions and the known examples from Great Britain are discussed in Mortimer and Bunker 2019 and in Mortimer 2019 (the latter paper is a revised and updated version of the relevant chapter in Mortimer and Bunker 2019). Pyramid mounts in graves are quite rare, both in the British Isles and those from the Continent and, judging by burial evidence, it appears that the occupants of most sword containing graves did not wear them.

I commenced this survey with the intention of testing a hypothesis that finds of sword pommels, pommel caps 1 and other sword furniture mainly during the 5 th to 7 th centuries may have not been casually or accidentally lost but deliberately removed and buried by their owners possibly as a ritual sacrifice or to distance themselves from previous owners of the sword. 2 If the number of metal detector finds were markedly fewer before the 5 th century and after the 7 th , I thought that would help to support the idea. Parts of the British Isles, particularly large sections of England, began to experience a cultural shift from the 5 th century onwards. During the 7 th century Christianity began to dominate England and ideas were changing. I thought that perhaps the number of pommel finds from that rough date would, therefore decline.

The paper focusses on the selective use of ‘eye’ imagery portrayed as decoration on helmets, such as that from Sutton Hoo as well as those from Sweden, and on symbols found on swords, brooches and other items. It will bring into the discussion the image of the ‘horned’ man or men found on pressbleches designs, belt buckles and a number of three dimensional figures throughout the northern regions.

Enright claims that the 'The Sutton Hoo Sceptre' was not made by Anglo-Saxons but created by a 'Celtic' craftsman who deployed 'Celtic' iconographic themes in its carving. He claims, too, to have found new evidence not used before in this connection. In this paper many of his findings are challenged, as are the firmness of his conclusions. This paper forms a chapter in our book, "Remaking the Sutton Hoo Stone" where a full discussion of the Stone, it's possible origins, connections and analogs can be found.

The paper lists all sword-pommels and associated items included within the Portable Antiquities Scheme database up to November 2019  from the Iron Age to around the 11th Century. They have been quantified and some basic statistical data extracted regarding the different periods covered by the timespan.

A consideration of the possibe origns of pyramid mounts together with an attempt at a typology. The paper also considers when the tradition began and how long it lasted. The focus is on examples from Britain but some Continental analogues are discussed when necessary.

I commenced this survey with the intention of testing a hypothesis that finds of sword pommels, pommel caps 1 and other sword furniture mainly during the 5 th to 7 th centuries may have not been casually or accidentally lost but deliberately removed and buried by their owners possibly as a ritual sacrifice or to distance themselves from previous owners of the sword. 2 If the number of metal detector finds were markedly fewer before the 5 th century and after the 7 th , I thought that would help to support the idea. Parts of the British Isles, particularly large sections of England, began to experience a cultural shift from the 5 th century onwards. During the 7 th century Christianity began to dominate England and again, ideas were altering. I collected data on all sword pommels from the Iron Age to the end of the 11 th century reported by metal detectorists to and published by the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) 3 and subjected the information to analysis. I have been unable to support my initial hypothesis but the exercise has resulted in some very interesting data and the intention of this paper is to share it with interested readers to take the discussion further. The collection of material is divided into three main parts; firstly the pommels from the Iron Age to the 4 th century. That is followed by information concerning pommels mostly dating from the 5 th century to the 7 th and finally the later, early medieval examples. Only the last two sets of data, 5 th to 7 th and 8 th to 11 th centuries, are brought together at the end and compared. I have also singled out one form of pommel, Petersen type L, from the later period for special treatment in Addenda 2 for reasons that I will explain there. It is not necessary to read through all the PAS numbers and associated information, they are provided so that interested readers can check the entries for themselves. Illustrations of most of the entries in the 5 th to 7 th century list can be found together on my Academia.edu page as 'Appendix 10, sword pommel detector finds' (https://www.academia.edu/). The analysis and conclusion at the end of this paper can be read without absorbing all the individual entries. Staffordshire Hoard I have not included the pommel entries for the Staffordshire Hoard within the 5th to 7th century list as the PAS entries are incomplete and they have not yet been fully published. The PAS entries were made shortly after their discovery and before conservation and are now outdated. There are now 1 The difference between pommel caps and pommels is that a pommel usually has part of the sword tang peened in the centre of the pommel, whereas a cap is decorative and fits over the true pommel and is fixed at its ends to the top of the upper guard of the hilt. 2 This possibility is discussed fully in Mortimer and Bunker 2019. Some of the finds listed here are from disturbed burials. Most are not, it seems. 3 The PAS website can be found here: https://finds.org.uk/ Finds can be viewed by using the entry number on the PAS website.

This paper focusses on sword pyramids that have been found in Britain, most of which are from England. The objects are dated from the 5th century and I suggest their use continues into the 8th. I have constructed a simple typology into which all known pyramids from Britain can be fitted. I have attempted to find something approaching an answer to a number of questions, that I believe require investigating, concerning these ornaments in order to begin to understand what they were for and why they were worn.