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From Roman Table to Anglo-Saxon Grave: An Archaeological Biography of the Scremby Cup
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 May 2024
Abstract
The presence of Roman material in early Anglo-Saxon graves in England is well documented, and recent excavations at Scremby in Lincolnshire have revealed a complete copper-alloy enamelled drinking cup in a sixth-century ad female burial. Not only is such a Roman vessel a very rare find, but also its inclusion in an early medieval grave makes it a unique example of the reuse of an antique object in a funerary context. This article presents a typological and metallurgical analysis of the cup and selected comparative examples from England and France are discussed. The context of deposition and the role the cup played as a burial container for animal fat are examined, as are the mechanisms that lay behind the cup's continued life several centuries after its manufacture.
La présence de matériel romain dans des sépultures d’époque anglo-saxonne en Angleterre est bien connue mais il est extrêmement rare de trouver un objet intact. C'est le cas du gobelet de Scremby, un récipient de table romain en alliage de cuivre émaillé découvert lors de fouilles récentes dans un sépulture féminine de la nécropole de Scremby (Lincolnshire) datée du VIe siècle apr. J.-C. Son inclusion dans une tombe représente un cas unique de réemploi d'un objet ancien dans contexte funéraire du haut moyen âge. Cet article présente les analyses typologiques et métallurgiques du gobelet et le compare à certains exemplaires découverts en Angleterre et en France. Les auteurs examinent le dépôt du gobelet et son rôle de récipient funéraire contenant des graisses d'origine animale ainsi que les mécanismes qui ont permis à cet objet de survivre pendant plusieurs siècles après sa création. Translation by Madeleine Hummler
In England sind römische Funde in frühangelsächsischen Gräbern gut belegt, aber ein intakter Gegenstand kommt sehr selten vor. Letztens haben Ausgrabungen in Scremby in Lincolnshire ein weibliches Grab des 6. Jahrhunderts aufgedeckt, welches einen vollständigen, kupferlegierten und emaillierten Trinkbecher enthielt. Der Becher ist nicht nur ein seltener Fund, sondern auch ist die Deponierung eines römischen Gefäßes in einem frühmittelalterlichen Grab ein einmaliges Beispiel der Wiederverwendung eines antiken Gegenstandes in einem Bestattungskontext. Der Artikel betrifft die Ergebnisse der typologischen und metallurgischen Untersuchungen des Bechers und eine vergleichende Diskussion von ausgewählten Exemplaren aus England und Frankreich. Der Deponierungskontext und die Rolle des Bechers als Behälter von Tierfett in einem Bestattungsmilieu sowie die Umstände seines Überlebens über mehrere Jahrhunderte nach seiner Entstehung werden auch diskutiert. Translation by Madeleine Hummler
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