I Dig Sheffield | Digging Around Sheffield and the Peaks

Dimensions : Diameter 4.4cm, maximum length of larger piece 3.6cm.

Site name : Benty Grange
Site type : Burial site

Time period : Anglo-Saxon
Material : Enamel; Bronze; Metal
Object type : Grave goods; Household item
Museum number : J93.1190

There is no record of a hanging bowl in the grave in the Benty Grange barrow. However, the finding of escutcheons suggests there may have been one. There is some evidence to suggest that the grave had been disturbed before 1848. This may have damaged any objects inside it.

Thomas Bateman records finding parts of three escutcheons in his excavations. Only two survive and they are in fragments. Study suggests they are a matching pair.

The base metal is bronze. This is decorated with an interlace design in yellow enamel. It shows limbless creatures, probably fish, grasping each others tails. The surviving piece shows one complete fish, on the left, curled round with its head at the bottom. Its long thin tail is visible on the right. It is grasped by a second fish which has a large triangular eye. The remains of the second escutcheon are now in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Study of the decoration on both pieces suggests the original design was of three such fishes.

Intertwined animal figures are a common design theme in Anglo-Saxon art. The animals are often curled up and biting each others tails. This style is also seen in manuscript designs, particularly from Northumbria, and can be dated to the 7th century. This dating is similar to other objects from the burial.

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Bibliography :
Bateman, T. , 1861
Bruce-Mitford, R. and Luscombe, M. R. , 1974
Jones, H. E. , 1997

Glossary:
Anglo-Saxon
Barrow
Escutcheon
Excavation
Thomas Bateman

Related objects
Fragment of brooch from Roystone Grange
Watercolour showing fragments of metal chainwork
Watercolour of finds from Benty Grange including escutcheon and cup fittings
Escutcheon from Roystone Grange

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