# New light on Dark Age royals



## Rosemary (Nov 24, 2007)

British National Party - New light on Dark Age royals 
[FONT=&quot]A freelance archaeologist has uncovered what is thought to be the only known Anglo-Saxon royal burial site in the north of England. Spectacular gold jewellery, weapons and clothing were found at the 109-grave cemetery, believed to date from the middle of the 7th Century. Excavations were carried out after Steve Sherlock studied an aerial photo of the land near Redcar, Teesside. 

Traditionally, Anglo-Saxon royalty were buried in the south with the most famous being Sutton Hoo on the banks of the river Deben in Suffolk.

The royals found near Redcar could be linked to the Kentish Princess Ethelburga who travelled north to marry Edwin, King of Northumbria.

_The 7th century is an intriguing period.  Little was written in those days, and so the archeology finds help fill in the history of that century.   Has anyone been to see  this latest burial site?  _
 [/FONT]


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## Fake Vencar (Nov 24, 2007)

This discovery will indeed shine new light on the Saxons and their burials. They only thought they were buried in the south because they had found no evidence in the north. Now they have found this to be not true, how many more graveyards are there?


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## The Ace (Nov 24, 2007)

Hello, the BNP, aren't they the same as the ones who blew up the oldest Iron-Age site in Europe rather than allow the world to believe that the Poles were more advanced than the Master Race ?

The British National Party are a racist, fascist organisation who would love this kind of vindication of their racial theories and would not be above a little tampering.

I'll reserve judgement until a reputable source can be found.


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## Rosemary (Nov 24, 2007)

The Ace said:


> Hello, the BNP, aren't they the same as the ones who blew up the oldest Iron-Age site in Europe rather than allow the world to believe that the Poles were more advanced than the Master Race ?
> 
> The British National Party are a racist, fascist organisation who would love this kind of vindication of their racial theories and would not be above a little tampering.
> 
> I'll reserve judgement until a reputable source can be found.



Well, I don't know much about the BNP Ace, are they the ones that pay people for their finds?  
Anyway, I found this on the BBC History internet site...

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Tees | 'Dramatic' ancient cemetery found
  A freelance archaeologist has uncovered what is thought to be the only known Anglo-Saxon royal burial site in the north of England.
  Excavations began in 2005 and continued under Mr Sherlock's supervision with help from local archaeologists and volunteers.


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## Curt Chiarelli (Nov 24, 2007)

I don't know anything about the British National Party either, but if this find_ is_ genuine then it's the first major archaeological find of the new century! I can't wait to see some images of what they've uncovered! It's kinda like Xmas morning - except you have to wait 1,400 years to open your presents!


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## Ursa major (Nov 24, 2007)

In addition to its more than dubious policies, the BNP is a political party; as such, its website is probably not the best place from which to extract unbiased news stories. 

Not that anyone from outside the UK can be blamed for not knowing - I wouldn't know the names of more than a tiny percentage of non-UK parties (and probably UK ones, if you've ever seen the long list of parties that put up candidates in UK elections and byelections).


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## Wiglaf (Nov 24, 2007)

So Northern Saxons resemble Southern Saxons?  Not earth shattering is it?  Most peoples seem to be more advanced than was formerly thought.  The BNP might be stressing this find because it is about Saxons, however.  There was still considerable trade.  Europe wasn't destroyed so much as every time it seemed ready to progress, it suffered another setback.


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## The Ace (Nov 24, 2007)

Ok, simply put, the BNP are liars.  They lie about little things like racist violence and the holocaust.

 Mr Sherlock has done his reputation no favours by his seeming association with them.

Pssssssssssssssst, Rosemary, take a look at the BNP at Oxford article on the same page, or explore their website a little further.  They are not nice to know.

And to our friends across the pond.   Imagine if White Power claimed to find evidence of European settlement in Utah from the same era.

This would give you the general gist.


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## Allegra (Nov 24, 2007)

That's a great discovery! I wonder if the treasures will be displayed in British Museum someday. Thanks for the news, Rosie!


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## The Ace (Nov 24, 2007)

Allegra, the provenance would have to be checked first.  'Seeding,' of archaeological sites is not unknown, and some of the people involved have a vested interest.


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## Wiglaf (Nov 24, 2007)

Ace, it may need collaboration, but it is what I would have expected to find.  They bury the dead and the rich and powerful have fancy gold trinkets.  I will look into the BNP connection though.  I believe in some things such as promoting speaking English that groups here turn into something racist.  While I am against extreme multiculturalism, I abhor the racist fringe.  The BNP definitely goes beyond promoting a reduction in fractualism and goes into racism.


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## Pyan (Nov 24, 2007)

I don't know why this is on _that_ site either, but the story was also run on the BBC News website.....
BBC NEWS | England | Tees | 'Dramatic' ancient cemetery found

and the Tees Archæological Officer, Robin Daniels, seems satisfied with its provenance....

Oh, and a picture for Curt:


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## Wiglaf (Nov 24, 2007)

I so far have found nothing to connect or refute any ties between the BNP and Stephen Sherlock(the name on his e-mail address).  Could they not be connected; the BNP has only latched onto the story after the fact to further their aims?  The find essentially is the discovery that Saxons up north didn't send their royals to another kingdom in the south for burial.  I see the site as confirming that dark age tribes weren't so backward.  Saxon or British superiorty?  Most people groups throughout the world were nowhere near as backward at that time as was suggested in the past.  The people of the rest of Europe were simular and the rest of the world was still more advanced.  The finding of an accurate calender, clever devices, or plumbing would have done better to advance them to the level of the ancient Greeks, the Chinese, Arabs, or the Incas.  It would be a poor attempt to improve the Saxons' standing if it was faked.


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## Curt Chiarelli (Nov 25, 2007)

pyan said:


> I don't know why this is on _that_ site either, but the story was also run on the BBC News website.....
> BBC NEWS | England | Tees | 'Dramatic' ancient cemetery found
> 
> and the Tees Archæological Officer, Robin Daniels, seems satisfied with its provenance....
> ...



Thanks Chris! Stunning stuff! Looks like coloured glass, lapis lazuli and amethyst stones set in gold.


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## Rosemary (Nov 25, 2007)

The Ace said:


> Pssssssssssssssst, Rosemary, take a look at the BNP at Oxford article on the same page, or explore their website a little further.  They are not nice to know.



Thanks Ace!  I have heard of the BNP (didn't like what I heard then) but didn't really take much notice of the link with them in my original post of these archeology finds.

Since then, further reports have appeared...
Sheelagh Clarke wants to keep found jewels at Kirkleatham Museum (TS10 - Redcar)

  Posted by Chris - administrator on November 21, 2007 1:05 PM 

THE BATTLE is on to keep a priceless Royal Anglo Saxon hoard of jewels and other precious items on Teesside.
  One of the North of England’s most remarkable finds from Anglo Saxon times has been painstakingly unearthed by local archaeologists at a formerly secret site in East Cleveland.
  But officials including Sheelagh Clarke, Redcar and Cleveland Council’s Cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, are determined to keep the jewels at Kirkleatham Museum “no matter what the cost” via grants and appeals.
  The items are thought to have been buried after 650AD....

  “Who this person was we may never know, but we can say she may have been Royal and was alive at the time St Hilda was establishing the monastery at Whitby.”


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## Peter Graham (Nov 28, 2007)

Hello All,

Jolly interesting discussion! Allow me to throw in my two pen'north.

As other British members have so succinctly pointed out, the BNP are a nasty little ultra-right party of racists in ill-fitting suits. They arose out of the ashes of the old National Front, a loose band of violent skinheads in eighteen hole Dr Marten boots and green bomber jackets whose sole contribution to politics was to orchestrate an awful lot of the thuggish racism and violence that marred British football in the 1970's and 1980's. They are probably not unlike the American KKK in terms of their attitudes to immigration and multiculturalism, although they are now seeking to present themselves as the poor injured victims of some politically correct anti-free speech campaign. I wouldn't give them the wind off my arse to cool their soup and if any of them turn up at the Graham household come the next general election, I fully intend to set my dogs on them.

What is particularly interesting in the context of this thread is that the BNP do not seem to realise that the Saxons were actually immigrants to Britain themselves. The true homeland of the genetic English is North Germany and South Denmark and in particular the wet and boggy bits around the coast. Genetically, no-one nowadays is really purely English - the average modern day Briton is often as not a genetic porridge of practically every race that has turned up on our shores over the last three thousand years. And hurrah for that!

The "great find" of 7th Century Saxon graves is probably not as earth-shattering as it might first seem. Saxons and Angles had been planted in Britain before the Romans even left, usually as auxiliary troops. By the 7th Century, the tiny coastal kingdom of Bernicia had been formed by the English on the North Sea littoral around Bamburgh. Redcar is right on the coast, although it is a little south of the heartland of Bernicia.

There is some evidence to suggest that the kings of Bernicia defeated the Celtic British Peredur of York in the late 6th Century, following which they were almost wiped out themselves by an alliance of other local British kings, led by our own local hero, Urien of Reged. They hung on and eventually coalesced with the Angles of Deira (around East Yorkshire) to form the kingdom of Northumbria.

The finds discovered in Teeside probably date from the second period of Bernician expansion, when the British states were on the point of collapse due to internal strife. High-status sites are always interesting, but I think it is not so very surprising to find them in that particular place. Whatever the BNP or others might say, it's more or less where you'd expect to find them.

I feel better now....

Regards,

Peter


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## svalbard (Dec 12, 2007)

The BNP are a fascist group, yes? No credance should be giving to these people. The only reason the Saxons of Bernicia and Deira hung on was due to the assassination of Urien and an ill-thought raid on Catreath. Of course, I am just being objectionable here. But I believe there is an element of truth in the theory that if Urien survived, then the history of north may have turned out differently.


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