Anglo-Saxon Period (AD 650-1100)



What is the Anglo-Saxon Period?
The Anglo-Saxons were the population in Britain descended from Germanic tribes. The descendants migrated from Northern Germany and settled in England and Ireland around AD 400. After initial settlement of the Germanic tribes, the people adopted a Germanic form of Paganism which closely related to Old Norse Religion. This Pagan religion was slowly replaced by Christianity around AD 600-800 and Christianity remained the main religion for Anglo-Saxon people for the rest of this period. The Anglo-Saxon period runs from the time of this initial settlement up until the Norman conquest of England around AD 1100. 



​What did a conventional burial look like for Anglo-Saxons?
Burial practiced by the Anglo-Saxons can be categorized into three different types; final phase burials, princely burial and unfurnished burials. Final phase burials are seen as the typical cemetery site for this time period. They are seen as a transition between Pagan and Christian inhumation (burial) tradition. Final phase burials are almost all inhumation with minimal grave goods. The inhumations tend to be oriented west-east with the bodies in a supine (laying on back), extended, or slightly flexed position, with the arms either by the side or crossed across the body. Princely burials are usually found underneath a mound with a large number of high quality grave goods and it seems that these graves often stand alone. Princely burials can consist of either inhumation or cremation. The inhumations, like final phase burials, also tend to be oriented west-east with the bodies in a supine, extended, or slightly flexed position, with the arms either by the side or crossed across the body. The third type of burial is the unfurnished burial. These burials are harder to define but are categorized but an extended, supine inhumation with no grave goods. When we look at deviant burials in specific case studies, we are classifying deviancy based on the fact that they do not fit into the criteria of any of these three types of burial (Carver, 1992:84-86).