In : The West Midlands Team
Thu Apr 12th, 2012 by Angie Bolton | 2 comments
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery have organised a season of Sunday afternoon lectures on the Staffordshire Hoard. These lectures will address four very different aspects of the hoard from its initial discovery and study, the conservation work being undertaken, and what it all means for Mercia and Britain in the Early Medieval Period. It is expected that demand for places will be high so book early to avoid disappointment !!! The Lectures: Sunday 22nd April, 2pm-3pm In this talk Dr. Kevin Leahy, the National Adviser of Early Medieval Metalwork for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, discusses the exciting early days when the Hoard was discovered in a muddy field by a local metal detector, drawing upon the processes of finding archaeological material to uncovering its fascinating history. Sunday 20th May, 2pm-3pm This talk is a rare opportunity to learn from the experts more about the Conservation of the Staffordshire Hoard. The talk will be led by Deborah Magnoler, a conservator working on the Hoard, and Dr. David Symons, Curator of Antiquities and Numismatics. Sunday 22nd July, 2pm-3pm During the Anglo-Saxon period Staffordshire, where the hoard was discovered, was the centre of the Kingdom of Mercia. Join Dr Morn Capper in this talk about the historical context behind the Staffordshire Hoard. Sunday 18th August, 2pm-3pm In this talk Professor Nicholas Brooks delves deeper into the context of the Staffordshire Hoard, looking at how religion was going through a process of change during this period in Britain and how the Hoard pieces can illustrate these changes. For more information on current Staffordshire Hoard exhibition at BMAG see All talks will take place in the Waterhall, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
The Finding of the Hoard – the Early Days’ - A talk with Dr Kevin Leahy
Behind the Scenes at the Museum: Studying the Staffordshire Hoard
Warfare and Violence: the Making of Mercia
The Hoard as a Window onto England in the age of the Conversion to Christianity
http://www.bmag.org.uk/events?id=892
Or
http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk/
Tickets are £6 per person. Advanced booking is advised for these events.
To book your ticket contact the box office on 0121 303 1966 or book on-line at www.bmag.org.uk.
For further information please contact Julia Kirby (julia.kirby@birmingham.gov.uk or 0121 303 2836)
In : Somerset
Sat Mar 24th, 2012 by Laura Burnett | no comments
Cloth seals, although small and not much to look at, can give us fascinating insights into the Medieval and Post Medieval cloth trade, which was so important to economies of the period. This lead seal, SOM-B424B7, is of a form typical in England and some adjacent areas of the continent. It is formed of a row of four disks with tabs between. The row was bent in half over the edge of the cloth and a projecting point on one of the small outer disks went through the cloth then through a hole on the other outer disk before being stamped flat to rivet the ends together and to the cloth. The small disks appear plain apart from the raised circle from flattening the rivet. One larger disk is stamped with the legend *TAVNTON encircling 79 within a pellet border, the other has several faint raised lines, probably a 'privy' or 'merchants' mark.
Seals were attached to cloth at several stages of production. Personal seals might be added by the weaver and dyer, guild seals might also be added to show the quality of the work had been checked and it was of a required length and seals were added to show various taxes has been paid. This is almost certainly for serge cloth and Taunton seals with similar designs are known from the British Museum collections (Egan 1994: 51 and fig 23, no.97 and 98) and from Gloucester, Norfolk, Jamestown (Virginia) and Stockholm. It is suggested they are 17th century seals and the full date would read 1679, other dated examples include 1676, 1677 and 1674 (Egan ibid).
As cloth seals were discarded where the cloth was used, it is uncommon to find local seals (other seals from the same parish include a group from Ausburg, Germany). The VCH discussed the extensive cloth industry in Dunster and suggests: "The Dunster cloth industry spread to Carhampton before the end of the 16th century when clothiers, weavers and feltmakers were recorded. Weaver Edward Mills left two pairs of looms in 1635… and a weaver was recorded in 1713 but none thereafter" (Sireut 2010, Vol XII, in progress ). It is possible either that cloth from Taunton was consumed locally as well as exported or that Carhampton did not have its own mark but used the Taunton one and this seal was lost or removed before the cloth was exported.Read full post in context »»
The content contained within the Blog's pages do not represent an official position from any of the organisations associated with the Portable Antiquities Scheme. They are solely those of the post's author.
