These are finds from a woman's grave (no. 16) excavated at Brighthampton in Oxfordshire.

The grave contained:

  • pair of disc brooches
Disc brooches
  • 2 amber beads
Amber beads
  • a bent bronze strap end
Strap end
  • coin with a small hole
  • toilet set with 2 picks and a earscoop on a ring

These finds tell us that this woman may not have been as rich or important as the woman from Wallingford, since she has less objects in her grave.

The pair of brooches (see picture above) tells us she wore the typical style of Anglo-Saxon dress fastened at the chest with brooches. She only had 2 beads and a toilet set, which may have been worn between the brooches with the coin. The hole in the coin tells us it was used as a pendant rather than currency.

Skeleton from Wallingford drawn by Alexandra

Skeleton of woman found at Wallingford
Drawing by Alexandra

Finally the strap end tells us she was probably wearing some kind of belt, since strap ends were placed on the ends of belts or straps. This belt appears not to have had a buckle, so it may have been made of textiles rather than leather and tied in a knot at the waist. Of course, the strap end could have been used on some other form of strap.

These graves help us understand the sorts of objects an Anglo-Saxon woman wore.

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