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Description: | A small iron bell plated with copper-alloy using the 'fusion-plating process', of Bourke's class 1 (Bourke 1980).The bell is corroded but appears to be made from a single piece of iron that has been folded in two; the seam, which is located to the side, is now open and it is unclear whether this was once riveted or simply joined with the copper-alloy brazing metal which also covers the body. The base forms a distorted circle and the body tapers to a rectangular apex.A ring was set in the top of the bell which served both as a handle and for a suspension of the clapper. The former is evidenced by two small knobs of iron at the apex; the latter is perhaps evidenced by a small sub-oval shaped piece of iron that was discovered in soil removed from the centre of the bell. The interior appears to contain lead corrosion.The bell is smaller, but similar in form to one discovered in the grave of an Anglo-Saxon smith at Tattershall Thorpe, Lincolnshire, dated to between c. 660-670 (Hinton 2000), p.44, fig. 30). The condition of the Tattershall Thorpe bell suggested that it was already old at the time of deposition, and the location of the item in the grave demonstrated that it belonged with other tools rather than with the scrap metal. Iron bells have also been found in association with tool hoards elsewhere at Flixborough (Leahy 1995) and Mastermyr (Arwidsson and Berg 1983 in note 15, 28-9). Other examples from graves have all been dated to the 7th or early 8th centuries (Hinton 2000: 45; Geake 1997: 102).Larger braized bells are well known in Ireland where many have been discovered on monastic sites (Bourke 1980). Those known from Scotland - which are also assigned a 7th or 8th century date - are attributed to the influence of the Irish church but have a greater size range, from 60mm to 326mm tall (Bourke 1983: 464). The Scottish series of brazed iron bells have been interpreted as evidence for the activity of Columban monks and the influence of the Columban church (Bourke 1983: 466). The use of bells within Christian contexts is also well documented in this period where particularly the larger bells may have been used for summoning the faithful to prayer (Ottaway 1995, p.6).In England Anglo-Saxon bells have been found on a variety of high status sites and also within graves, and the series demonstrates a greater range of sizes to those from Ireland and Scotland, particularly at the lower end where one example from York stands just 17mm tall (Ottaway 1995: 7). At the other end examples from Repton (Ottaway 1995: 7) and Tattershall Thorpe (Hinton 2000) stand over 100mm tall. The present example falls somewhere in between at 37mm tall. The form of copper-alloy brazed iron bells remains fairly consistent across Ireland, Scotland and England however.The social and religious context in which smaller Anglo-Saxon bells were used is unclear at present, though the fact that they appear in graves suggests they carried some significance. Bells have been found accompanying males, females and children (Hinton 2000: 47). Ottaway has suggested that smaller bells may have been hung around the necks of beasts. It is probable however that both small and large bells were used as personal items, particularly given the complexity of the manufacturing process.Furthermore, Hinton points to King Wihtred's law code of c. 695, which states that 'if a man from a distrance or a foreigner goes off the track, and he neither shouts nor blows a horn, he is to be assumed to be a thief, to be either killed or redeemed (Hinton 2000: 47; Whitelock 1979: 398).The present bell was discovered on a site that has produced a large quantity of objects dating to the Middle Saxon period (circa 650-800), including Ipswich ware, an inscription in lead, pins, stylii and a glass mount that shares similarities with Irish ecclesiastical objects.Detailed measurementsHeight: 37mm. Length: 44mm. Width: 41mm. Thickness (wall of bell) 2.31mm. Width across apex: 30.37mm. Thickness at apex: circa 4mm. Weight: 34.95g.ReferencesArwidsson and Berg (1983) The Mastermyr Find: A Viking Age Tool Chest from GotlandBourke, C. (1980) 'Early Irish Hand-Bells', The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. 110, 52-66Bourke, C. (1983) 'The hand-bells of the early Scottish church', Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 113, 464-468Geake, H. (1997) The Use of Grave-Goods in Conversion Period England, c. 600- c. 850, British Archaeology Reports British Series, 261 (Oxford)Hinton, D. A smith in Lindsey: the Anglo-Saxon grave at Tattershall Thorpe, Lincolnshire, Society for Medieval Archaeology Monograph Series No. 16Leahy, K. (1995) 'The Flixborough Hoard', Current Archaeology 141Ottaway. P. (1995), 'The Products of the Blacksmith in Mid-Late Anglo-Saxon England, Part 2' http://www.pjoarchaeology.co.uk/academic-consultancy/anglosaxon-ironwork.html accessed 14.6.2012.Whitelock, D. (ed.) (1979), English Historical Documents c. 500-1042, 2nd edn. (London)
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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