Another Dig Day in the Glebe and You're Dead to ME - Viking Women: wives, weavers and warriors
Entry by Zillah
Another enjoyable Friday digging in the Glebe field.
Friday is St Annes bellringing morning and we have to raise our voices over the pealing. It was quite noisy yesterday with a neighbour hedge cutting and a delivery wagon reversing down the lane. It is a special place when all is quiet and the birds are singing and I imagine a utopian Saxon village with folk quietly going about their daily lives. But what was it like at Siston in the 10th - 11th Centuries? We don't have much structure to go on but the amount of Saxo Norman pottery, animal bone and artefacts make me think that it was a thriving settlement which would have been a lively vibrant place with all sorts of livestock, industry and no doubt a bell ringing somewhere. We have found bell clappers from animal collars. Every find is a window into an earlier world. We find tantalising proof of metal working, - one day we will find the forge. I expect Siston was as noisy then, as it is today.
Animal bell clapper found this year
Still thinking about daily life 1000 years ago. You're Dead to Me is a Radio 4 programme/pod cast that I enjoy usually whilst pottering in the kitchen on a Saturday morning and August 2nd was no exception. Viking Women: wives, weavers and warriors. A fascinating insight into daily life 1000 years ago. Having listened to Dr Eleanor Barraclough who is based at Bath Spa University I bought her latest book, I'm going to read it and if I'm feeling brave contact Dr Barraclough and ask if she talks to local groups. I did appreciate that the lives of these women would have been very similar to those who lived in Siston and I'm still cooking, cleaning and gossiping now - nothing changes ( all though sewing and weaving is beyond me).
Cover images
We have found Anglo/Scandinavian (Viking) mounts inThe Glebe - how did they get there? Keep on digging and one day we may know.
Early medieval Viking mounts and clasps found in the Glebe.