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Description: | Cast copper alloy Coptic bowl. The bowl is circular, concave and in a remarkable state of preservation, having been discovered in a grave. The bowl has a pair of integral handle loops at opposite ends of the bowl. These loops extend from the top of the rim. One copper alloy handle is complete. The handle is oval in cross-section and has two straight shanks with a semi-circular central portion. The straight shanks slot through the handle lugs. The other handle appears to be a repair, since all that remains in the right hand lug is a short iron shank with an incomplete curve, mimiking the complete copper alloy partner. The bowl rim is slightly thickened and rounded. The bowl has an elaborate openwork pedestal base to it. The openwork decoration consists of a series of upward and downward pointing V-shaped cells.
An incomplete iron ladle was discovered inside the bowl. The bowl of the ladle was found corroded to the interior near the rim as evidenced by a large patch of iron corrosion (picture LIN3059M). Iron corrosion from the handle of the ladle is also visible further along the rim. The corroded position of the handle suggests that at the time of deposition the bowl was approximately three quarters full of solid organic material on which the landle rested. The organic material, presumably foodstuffs, must have decayed sufficiently slowly to allow the ladle to corrode to the vessel wall.
Around the outside of the bowl there are two clear patches of woven fabric. The finders described seeing sheets of decayed fabric next to the bowl. Presumably this was a folded blanket.
Due to the keyhole form of excavation it is unclear where the bowl was located with regards to the body. The bowl was also discovered with other grave goods. These include a cowrie shell from the Indian Ocean or the Red sea LIN--E82622 , a complete imported glass palm bowl LIN-E8F0C7 , four iron latch lifters held together by an iron ring LIN-E7A961 , and an iron spear LIN-E7FAA6 , presumably a weaving spear.
The quantity and quality of the artefacts which include some imported luxury items suggests that the assemblage belonged to a wealthy female of very high status in the early 7th century. Examples of these 'princely' burials are very rare in England and so it is extremely disappointing that a findspot other than 'Cabourne area' is not known, even more so now that the body has been stripped of its goods. It is interesting that the neighbouring parish is called 'Swallow', which has interesting Anglo-Saxon roots.
The bowl is indentical to one discovered in grave 7 at the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Saltwood, Kent. The openwork pedestal base is identical. A comparable large undecorated bronze bowl with footring and opposed handles was also discovered at a cemetery in Prittlewell, South-East Essex.
The main focus of coptic bowls in England is in East Anglia and Kent, where they can be dated to the first half of the 7th century. Similar bowls were used in the high-status burials at Taplow (Bucks) and Sutton Hoo (Suffolk). | Format: | text/html | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ | Publisher: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Rights holder: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Subjects: | archaeology | Temporal: | 450
599 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Adam Daubney | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
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