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Saxons and Nefertiti

3 December 2021
Archaeology

Gary sent in the link to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyCHtdpymNw … which is a video of Francis Prior, the archaeologist, and prolific writer and former member of Time Team, speaking about the arrival of the Anglo Saxons and throwing doubt upon the idea there was a massive invasion by people in small boats. They were not dinghies of course but they would have required a bit of paddling to cross the North Sea. He makes the point there is little evidence of a mass arrival of people from the continent. Even in East Anglia and the East Midlands, his operation mundi when digging holes in the ground and investigating the relevant period in question. The comments are remarkable. They are so out of date. People appear to be rooted in what they were taught at school. Most of them have failed to keep up with the storyline which has been changing for around 20 years as more and more archaeologists make the point, there was no massive influx of people in the dark ages. Numerous books and studies on the early Saxon era have been made. I've got a dozen titles on my bookshelf. Only the odd historian sticks to the old storyline. It is accepted the ruling elite changed, Anglo Saxons taking British nobility to wed in order to cement their control, but an actual arrival of a lot of people at this time simply does not have the evidence to support it. In fact, the last time there was a massive influx of newcomers was at the beginning of the Bronze Age, in late 3rd millennium BC. They brought metal to use with them and Beaker pottery. The Neolithic, which was mainly pastoral in nature, with herds of cattle and sheep and pigs, was superseded by arable farmers. The Neolithic people did grow cereal crops, but not on the scale of the newcomers. These Bronze Age people were responsible for laying out the farms and roads and fields that are still seen in the landscape today. It is most likely they introduced a proto-English language as the field names have survived. Place names could not have all changed in the post Roman period. The lack of Celtic names is too obvious across lowland Britain. They had gone out of use long before the Anglo Saxon warrior caste arrived. In fact, Anglo Saxon is more akin to Scandinavian languages than to English, which is commonly compared to Frisian. The Beaker folk are said to have arrived from what is now the Netherlands and the North Sea coast of the continent, as far as Denmark. They do have a Scandinavian link but not like that of the post Roman adventurers. The Anglo Saxons came from the neck of Denmark [Angeln] and Jutland [in Denmark] etc. They are genetically very similar to the Vikings who arrived somewhat later. It has been difficult for geneticists to tell them apart. The lesson of this post, of course, is that if you don't keep up with research you fall by he wayside, as do the commentors at the link, still spouting stuff that was taught decades ago. One would almost think education = propaganda [in the way it is embedded in minds]. 

At https://phys.org/news/2021-12-gold-jewelry-nefertiti-bronze-age.html … two tombs dating to the Late Bronze Age on Cyprus contain gold jewelry, gemstones, and ceramics, some of which is a link to late dynasty 18 Egypt. Some of them are specifically dated to the era of Akhnaten and Amarna, and his queen, Nefertiti. As for buffs of chronology revisions the evidence is that dynasty 18 is firmly Late Bronze and cannot overlap with the Iron Age. Playing around with names on the dining room table is quite different to trowel in hand. Other grave goods display more evidence of widespread trade at this time as they have precious stones from India and Afghanistan, and various Egyptian products.

In Current Archaeology 382 we have an update on the Roman statues unearthed on the line of HS2 in Stoke Mandeville, and a hint of earlier occupation at the site. Some facts and figures on the England's largest Anglo Saxon period gold coin hoard found in Norfolk, which will probably end up in Norwich Castle Museum. A short piece on Vikings in Newfoundland, medicine in Byzantium, and a massive Bronze Age hillfort discovered in France. Science Notes describes the new dating methodology of geochemical analysis. See www.archaeology.co.uk

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