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This object is a fragment of a bronze hanging bowl. It may have looked like the one in this picture and would have been hung by the handles. This type of bowl is known as a ‘coptic bowl’ because it was made in the Eastern Mediterranean. In fact the bowl found in Asthall Barrow was made in Byzantium. This bowl tells us that the Anglo-Saxons traded for objects from the mediterranean. Hanging bowls are not often found in Anglo-Saxon graves. They may have had some ceremonial or religious purpose connected with the position of the owner within Anglo-Saxon society. It is thought they were used to hold liquid and may have been for washing hands at meals. There were at least 7 vessels found in the grave at Asthall including 3 pottery bowls, 1 silver cup, 2 other bronze bowls and a number of drinking horns. These objects suggest the person in the burial was very important and wealthy. It may also tell us about the sex of the person, since drinking cups and vessels are often found in rich male graves, like Sutton Hoo. |