For this exercise you will go to the British Museum website and search the Compass database for “Sutton Hoo.” Begin by reading the short article on the “Excavations of Sutton Hoo.” Next, choose 4 or 5 of the objects recovered from these excavations to examine in more detail. Before reading about these artifacts, study the larger image of each and speculate on the following questions:
– What was this object?
– What kind of person did it belong to?
– What function did it serve?
– What social or symbolic value might it have contributed to its owner?
British Museum database
Finally, choose 1 object and write a three paragraph summary of your findings. In the first paragraph you should provide a physical description of the artifact. The second should then speculate on its uses or importance. In the third paragraph you should review the catalog article on your object and compare your ideas with the conclusions other researchers have come to. (*I'll post a sample response as a comment to this prompt. Please post your work the same way.)
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Sutton Hoo Scepter
ReplyDeleteThe scepter discovered at Sutton Hoo seems to be carved out of stone. Its long cylindrical shaft tapers slightly until it comes to the intricate petal-like carvings at each end. Below the lower petals, a red-brown polished sphere is encircled by a claw-like cage. Atop the shaft, a stone circle rises out of what looks like a pearl-colored blossom sitting on the petals carved in the stone shaft. Above this circle perches a small stone stag, its head erect, antlers (the highest extremities of the scepter) stretching outwards.
I initially speculated that this artifact was a possession of the king buried in the ship at Sutton Hoo. It didn’t seem to be of much practical use, so I guessed it was probably more symbolic. First, it was a beautiful work of art in itself, but more importantly, it would indicate the power and wealth of whomever wielded it—after all, a commoner of the seventh-century wouldn’t have such a beautifully-crafted item. The stag at the top might represent the king, or might be tied to the king’s role in hunting in Anglo-Saxon culture.
Reading the accompanying article I found that the scepter was an emblem of power. I was wrong about its lack of utility, however: scepters could be used as whetstones to sharpen swords (though this particular scepter has not been used). What I thought were petals at the ends of the shaft are “somber faces, each with individual features,” which might be the king’s ancestors. The article also confirmed the importance of the stag: “In the early Germanic world, the stag is a symbol of strength and speed, and with its regal bearing it was considered the ‘king’ of the forest.”