EARLY MEDIEVAL COIN

630

Small hammered circular piece, apparently a Merovingian continental tremissis, of 7mm diameter and 2.8mm thickness, plain on one face but struck on the other with the motif of a double cross, formed of a single vertical strokes with two crossing bars or, if viewed at 90 degrees, like an H with a single horizontal stroke and two vertical bars. Both tips of each bar are swollen into an irregular enlargement flat above but expanded at either side, somewhat like a heart-shape. Each stroke of the motif is approximately 4.2mm long suggesting that the die was formed by three strokes into the matrix each made with a single blow from the same cutting or impressing tool. Around this central double-cross motif is a ring formed of a series of pellets spaced 1mm apart, linked by a connecting bar into a circle. As the strike is not central, part of the ring is missing, but as there are six pellets in the visible sector, which describes a full semicircle corresponding approximately with the arm-ends of the single stroke axis of the central motif, it appears that there were originally ten pellets thus linked to form the ring. The rim of the flan is irregularly-shaped, showing bumps caused by the initial casting of the flan or by secondary hammering. This little coin is very unusual. A single example occurred in the famous Crondall hoard, the primary source of knowledge about the earliest English shillings usually ascribed to Kent or London, dating to 616-640, the reign following AEthelbert I. The Crondall example is given by Metcalf, Thrymsas and Sceattas Volume I, Plate 3, Item 73, together with two plain items of gold of the same size, from the same hoard, all weighing in the vicinity of 1.29-1.3 grams, as does the present Sudbourne example. Metcalf calls them 'Possibly Anglo-Saxon'. They may also be compared very closely with the example found near Coddenham, Suffolk, in association with a group of the (later) pale gold thrymsas including the hand and cross portrait type, the two emperors type, the Pada types and the Desaiona types. It is extraordinary that the two outstanding known group finds of thrymsas should both include an example of this rare type, despite the difference of their date horizons, but the fact leaves no doubt that the present Sudbourne object belongs firmly in a mid seventh century numismatic context, and reinforces its known distribution in south-eastern Suffolk. Sudbourne falls closely within the region of intensive high-status activity in the 7th century associated with Rendlesham, Butley, Sutton Hoo, Iken (St Botolph) and Snape. Increasingly the view must be that this entire domain was in active use during the 'high' phase of Wuffing activity from Raedwald down to Ealdwulf (664-713) and AElfwald (713-749). Parts of Sudbourne are adjacent to the Butley river (between Deben and Alde) above Burrow Hill, a site increasingly active in the later seventh century. Sudbourne remained important during the period following the Viking Wars and the collapse of the East Anglian royal house, for during the 940s the entire estate of the 'Wicklaw', i.e. the area corresponding to the Five-and-a-half Hundreds purchased by Bishop Athelwold for the re-endowment of the monastery of Ely in 970, and therefore known as the 'Liberty of St Etheldreda', lay in the hands of a Danish Earl named Scule who was located at Sudbourne. (Liber Eliensis.) If (cf Peter Warner & co.) this endowment to Ely was a re-presentation of a franchise originally made to Etheldreda herself, foundress of Ely c.673, who had acquired the Isle of Ely by marriage, the presence of seventh century coinage in Sudbourne would be contemporary with the first phase of Ely activity there. The relationship of the type with examples found at Dorestad and Nietap (etc) illustrate important high-level contact with the Rhine communication before the period of the Utrecht mission. EMC 2004.0113