| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | | | Site | | | Objects | | | | | Contact | ||||||||||||||||
Q: Do we know who was buried at Prittlewell?
Q: How do we know that the occupant of the grave was a man?
Q: How do we know that he was a king?
Q: Was the 'king' a Christian?
Q: Is there another chamber grave on the site?
Q: How important is this find?
Q: Were there other burials on the site?
Q. Where will we be able to see the find?
Q. Why will the tomb finds not be displayed at Prittlewell Priory?
Q. Who is going to pay for the final display of the Tomb/How will it be displayed?
Q. How does the Tomb fit in with the archaeology of the area?
Q. Where did the king live, and where are the homes of the "warriors"?
Q. Did this king "found" Prittlewell Church?
Q. What does the name Prittlewell mean; is it a Saxon name?
Q: Do we know who was buried at
Prittlewell?
A: In the absence of any inscription naming the occupant of
the chamber grave we will never know for certain. However,
analysis of the grave goods will give us a good idea when the
burial took place and may provide clues as to the identity of the
occupant.
Q: How do we know that the occupant
of the grave was a man?
A: As no skeletal remains survived we cannot be 100 per cent
certain. The presence of weapons and feasting paraphernalia and
the absence of beads, brooches or other items associated with
female burials amongst the grave goods make it most likely that
the deceased was male.
Q: How do we know that he was a
king?
A: The richness and diversity of the grave goods buried with the deceased mark
his high status. Our understanding of early Anglo-Saxon kingship is not well
developed, however, an individual with significant wealth to be disposed of
at burial and whose relatives felt the need to mark his status by doing so
is clearly a member of a ruling elite, if not a king as we know it.
Q: Was the 'king' a Christian?
A: The practice of burial with grave goods is at this period
(late 6th/early 7th Century) not
incompatible with Christian belief. The presence of two crosses
among the contents of the coffin, the possible ritual use of the
'Coptic bowl' and flagon and the potential
interpretation of the gold buckle as a reliquary strongly suggest
a degree of Christian belief. Of course we cannot know how much
hedging of bets was involved.
Q: Is there another chamber grave on the site?
A: The evaluation of the site examined only a portion of the
site by excavation, the remainder being examined by non-intrusive
geophysical survey. Neither exercise indicated the presence of
another chamber grave, and these are considered to be reliable
evaluation techniques. However, other graves may be located in
the vicinity.
Q: How important is this
find?
A: Unplundered chamber tombs of this period are rare and this
example is particularly rich. It is possibly unique in that the
chamber and its contents were substantially undisturbed to the
extent that many objects were still pegged into place on the
walls of the chamber as they had been when the grave was
sealed.
Q: Were there other burials on the
site?
A: The chamber grave seems to have been located adjacent to an
existing cemetery the remains of which were found in the
evaluation and during earlier work. Burials of both Anglo-Saxon
and Roman date have been found.
Q. Who owns the finds?
A. Subject to Coroner's Inquest/decision, it is assumed
that the material belongs to Southend Borough; the
find was made on Council owned property.
Q. Where will we be able to see the
find?
A. The Museum of London and then Southend Museum are staging a
temporary exhibition with a selection of the objects from the
tomb. The options for the final display of the tomb are being
discussed at the moment.
Q. Why
will the tomb finds not be displayed at Prittlewell
Priory?
A. Although photographs of the finds will be on display as
part of our proposed redisplay at the Priory, (the story of
Prittlewell), it is important that these finds are interpreted
within the context of the archaeology and history of the whole of
south east Essex. The importance and relevance of the
tomb cannot be understood if it is divorced from such background,
since it is an integral part of that archaeology and history. It
is also at the Central Museum that the previous finds from the
Prittlewell Cemetery are displayed. All options for the display
of the material is being currently considered. We are not in a
position to make a decision at present.
Q. Who
is going to pay for the final display of the Tomb/How will it be
displayed?
A. A final display of the tomb finds will have to await the complete conservation
and treatment of all the finds together with research. This is going to take
many months of very careful work. In the meantime we are investigating various
options for the final display, which could include a complete reconstruction
of the tomb. The display of the tomb, or finds from the tomb, will require
extra funding which will be sought from external sources. We cannot say at
this stage what form this funding will take, from whom it will be sought,
or how much we would be seeking.
Q. How
does the Tomb fit in with the archaeology of the
area?
A. We knew from the finds of 1923 when the Priory Crescent was
being constructed, and from other finds from 1930, made during
the construction of railway sidings, that we were dealing with a
Saxon cemetery of quite high status. This was because of the
number of "warrior" burials, with sword, spear and
shield, and the female burials with gold brooches and beads, and
the glassware and imported pottery. It was still totally
unexpected to find such a rich "princely" burial on
the site.
Elsewhere in south east Essex there have been other cemeteries, many rather earlier than Prittlewell, such as Shoebury and a disturbed cemetery at Wakering. Evidence for Saxon settlements has been found in Southend, Wakering and Barling.
Q. Where did the king live, and where are the homes of the "warriors"?
A. In fact we do not know. Two Saxon buildings probably from a larger settlement
were excavated during building work to the north east of the cemetery site,
but there is no way of knowing whether this was the settlement associated with
this cemetery. One would expect that the king would have lived
in a rather grand hall, but this has never been found. Unfortunately,
the chances of ever finding it are remote for several reasons. First, such buildings
were constructed of timber, leaving only slight traces in the ground. Secondly,
so much building has gone on in Southend, that such a settlement many already
have been destroyed without trace. Thirdly, if the settlement lay under Priory
Park it would, at least, be protected.
Q. Did
this king found Prittlewell Church?
A. This is not known. It is believed that an archway on the
north side of the church is a remnant of a Saxon building,
perhaps a Saxon minster church. We are seeking expert opinion on
the dating of this feature. We will never know for certain, of
course, whether our king was connected in any way with the
church.
Q. What
does the name Prittlewell mean; is it a Saxon name?
The name Prittlewell probably means a sparkling spring. The fishponds in Priory
Park are fed by a spring, and this may be the one from which the place got
its name. Experts in place names tell us that places with the "well"
element are normally not dated before the early 8th century.
