Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping and I am really looking forward to learning with you today all about the Anglo-Saxons.

And we're going to explore the question, how do we know about life in Anglo-Saxon England? So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain how archaeologists and historians have used Anglo-Saxon coins to infer things about life in Anglo-Saxon Britain.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some key words.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The keywords we'll be using today are Franks, mint, pottery.

I'm going to say those words again and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Franks, mint, pottery.

Now, let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean.

Here are the definitions for each of our keyword.

The Franks were a Germanic tribe that were very powerful in early mediaeval Europe, particularly in modern day France.

To mint means to make a coin by stamping metal, and it can also be used as a noun to describe where coins are made.

Pottery refers to objects made of clay that are shaped and then fired at high temperatures to harden them.

Pause the video here to make a note of the keywords, and when you are ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we will be working through together in today's lesson.

Frankish connections, Roman influence and King Offa's coins, the growth of towns told through coins and pottery.

In the first learning cycle, we will explore Frankish connections.

Coins give historians clues about what Anglo-Saxon Britain was like and how it was linked to other parts of the world.

Can see in this photo of both sides of an Anglo-Saxon coin with the names of a king on either side.

The coins found at Sutton Hoo, an Anglo-Saxon burial site in East Anglia were not made in Britain.

They were all made by the Franks, a powerful Germanic tribe located in what is now modern day France and Germany.

But why were coins made by the Franks found in an Anglo-Saxon burial site? The king buried at Sutton Hoo was Anglo-Saxon not Frankish.

What do you think the reason is? Hm, I wonder.

Well, from these coins, historians and archaeologists can infer that the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of Kent and East Anglia were trading with the Franks and potentially other places in Europe, and this is how the coins ended up in Britain.

Take a look there at the photo of a Frankish coin.

Can you see how it was different to the Anglo-Saxon coin? Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

The coins found at Sutton Hoo were made in Britain.

Is that true or false? What do you think? The coins found at Sutton Hoo were made in Britain.

If you said that was false, you are absolutely right.

And how do we justify our answer? They were made by the Romans in what is now modern-day Italy.

They were made by the Franks in what is now modern-day France and Germany.

Which of those two statements helps to justify your answer? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? Which of these two statements helps to justify your answer? If you said they were made by the Franks in what is now modern day France and Germany, you're absolutely right, well done.

And how did the Frankish coins end up in Anglo-Saxon Britain? They were given as a gift to the Anglo-Saxon King buried at Sutton Hoo.

They were traded between the Anglo-Saxons and the Franks.

They had been stolen from the Franks by the Anglo-Saxons.

Take a moment to think.

Pause the video here and restart when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said they were traded between the Anglo-Saxons and the Franks, you're absolutely right, well done.

This brings us to our first learning task.

Laura and Jun are discussing Anglo-Saxon coins.

Who's statement is correct? And explain your decision to your learning partner.

Laura says, "There was no evidence found at Sutton Hoo which suggests that the Anglo-Saxons traded with other places in the world." Jun says, "There was evidence found at Sutton Hoo which suggests that the Anglo-Saxons traded with other places in the world." So who is correct? And explain your decision to your learning partner.

Pause the video here, give yourself enough time, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

How did you get on? Who did you agree with? Well, Jun's statement is correct, because there were coins made by the Franks found at Sutton Hoo.

And this suggests that the Anglo-Saxons did trade with other places in the world because the Franks lived in modern-day France and Germany.

Well done for completing that learning task.

It's now time to look at the second part of this lesson.

We're going to explore Roman influence and King Offa's coins.

One of the main reasons that the Anglo-Saxons arrived in Britain in the first place was because the Romans had left in 410 CE.

However, even though the Romans had left, their coins had not.

To begin with, Roman coins continue to be used by the Anglo-Saxons.

Take a look at that photo there of a Roman coin featuring the head of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Quite an intricate coin.

Amazing that you can still see that head on the coin.

What do you notice about these coins? Are there any similarities? Do you have a photo of a Roman coin and then a photo of an Anglo-Saxon coin featuring the head of King Offa of Mercia? What do you think? Do you notice anything about these coins? Anything similar? Well, Lucas noticed that they are similar as they both have the head of a ruler on them.

Oh, I can see that.

Did you see that too? Now, later when King Offa ruled the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia in 757 CE, he started to mint his own coins.

He put his head and face on the coins just like the Roman emperors had done.

He'd done this as a symbol to show that he was just as powerful as the Romans had been in Britain, if not more.

Some Anglo-Saxon coins even had pictures of famous Roman figures like Romulus, Remus, and their adopted wolf mother on them.

Coins with these important Roman figures on them tell historians and archaeologists how much Roman culture still influenced Anglo-Saxon Britain.

Now after Offa minted his own coins, other kings and important people in Anglo-Saxon Britain began to appear on Anglo-Saxon coins too.

For example, an important church leader called the Archbishop of Canterbury was also minted on Anglo-Saxon coins.

Similarly, the kings of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, such as Aethelberht II, the king of East Anglia also began to appear on Anglo-Saxon coins.

So can you see in both of those photos there, the photo of a coin with the image of Wulfred, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the photo of a coin with the image of Aethelberht II, the King of East Anglia.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Why did King Offa mint coins with his head and face on them? He thought it would make the coins worth a lot more because he was king.

He wanted to copy the Roman coins and show he was as powerful as the Roman emperors.

He wanted to show everyone what he looked like as many people would've not seen him in person.

Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and when you are ready to hear the answer, press play.

What did you think? If you said he wanted to copy the Roman coins and show he was as powerful as the Roman emperors, you're absolutely right, well done.

Who else appeared on Anglo-Saxon coins after King Offa minted coins of himself? Famous Roman figures like Romulus and Remus.

Important religious figures like the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Famous Roman emperors like Marcus Aurelius.

Or the kings of other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Take a moment to think.

Pause the video here and restart when you are ready to continue.

Could you remember? Who else appeared on Anglo-Saxon coins after King Offa? It was famous Roman figures like Romulus and Remus, important religious figures like the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the kings of other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Well done if you got that right.

This brings us to our second learning task.

Can you explain to your learning partner how the Romans continued to influence Anglo-Saxon coins even after they left Britain? Use the following words in your answer to help.

Mint, King Offa, Roman emperors, powerful, Romulus and Remus.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go, explaining to your learning partner how the Romans continue to influence Anglo-Saxon coins even after they left Britain.

And press play when you are ready to continue.

How did you get on? Shall we take a look at an example? So your answer could have included something like this? The Romans continued to influence Anglo-Saxon coins even after they left Britain, because King Offa started to mint his own coins with his head and face on just like the Roman emperors had done.

He did this to show he was as powerful as the Romans had been in Britain.

Coins with famous Roman figures, like Romulus and Remus, were also minted which also shows the Romans continued influence.

Well done for completing that learning task.

We're now ready to move into the final part of this lesson.

We're going to explore the growth of towns told through coins and pottery.

When the Romans left Britain, some of their settlements like London were not looked after.

The stone buildings began to crumble and often only the town and city walls remained.

When the Anglo-Saxons arrived, some of them set up new settlements, but others began to settle where the Romans had been before, even building their settlements within the old Roman walls.

Trade also slowed down in these towns.

However, archaeologists have found many Anglo-Saxon coins in the old Roman settlements.

Similarly, several maps have been discovered which show where mints, where coins were made, were located in Anglo-Saxon Britain.

The fact that the Anglo-Saxons started making more coins, suggests that the towns and trade seem to grow again once the Anglo-Saxons had arrived as they needed the coins to trade items. So have a look here at this French map showing the location of Anglo-Saxon mints.

So showing the places where the coins were made.

Archaeologists also found lots of Anglo-Saxon pottery in the previously Roman towns, particularly in London and Canterbury.

They believe that the pottery also shows how trade grew Once the Anglo-Saxons arrived, as they either made and used the pottery for direct trading, or as containers for storing other items that they had traded.

Historians and archaeologists can infer that the previous Roman towns had become busy, wealthy trading centres once again with the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons.

So you can see in that photo of the broken pieces of Anglo-Saxon pottery that the archaeologists uncovered that show that the Roman towns have become busy, wealthy trading centres again after the Anglo-Saxons arrived.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

The discovery of mints in old Roman towns show that the towns and trade grew once the Anglo-Saxons arrived.

Is that statement true or false? What do you think? If you said that that is true, you're absolutely right, well done.

And which of these two statements helps to justify your answer? Mints were needed to make more coins which the Anglo-Saxons used to trade items. Mints were needed to make more pottery which the Anglo-Saxons used to trade items. What do you think? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and when you're ready to continue press play.

What did you think? If you said that mints were needed to make more coins which the Anglo-Saxons used to trade items, you're correct, well done.

And why do archaeologists and historians think that Roman towns grew again after the Anglo-Saxons arrived? They found weapons in a grave which means people wanted to fight over these towns.

They found coins and pottery which means that there was more trade in these towns.

They found religious items which shows people thought that these towns were holy.

What do you think? Take a moment to think about this question.

Pause the video here and restart when you are ready to hear the answer.

What did you think? If you said, they found coins and pottery which means that there was more trade in these towns.

you're absolutely right, well done.

This brings us to our final learning task of this lesson.

Can you create a flow chart to explain how the Anglo-Saxon towns grew after the Romans left.

Some of the steps have been done for you.

You can use these words to help you.

Pottery, mint, and trade.

So the first in the flow chart, when the Romans left Britain, their towns were not looked after.

Then we have four more sections of the flow chart to fill before the last one.

The towns the Romans had left began to grow again.

So can you fill in those missing spaces on the flow chart to complete it? Pause the video here and give yourself enough time to create this flow chart to explain how the Anglo-Saxons towns grew after the Romans left.

And press play when you are ready to continue.

How did you get on? Shall we take a look? When the Romans left Britain, their towns were not looked after.

The Anglo-Saxons arrived and many settled in the Roman towns.

The Anglo-Saxons began to mint their own coins.

They also made pottery to trade and hold other traded items. This led to an increase in trade.

And, the towns the Romans had left began to grow again.

Well done for completing that learning task.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about Anglo-Saxon coins.

The coins found at Sutton Hoo were made by the Franks, not the Anglo-Saxons.

This shows that the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of Kent and East Anglia traded with the Franks and likely other places in Europe.

The Anglo-Saxons began to make their own coins, but these still had Roman influence.

For example, King Offa minted coins with his head and face on just like the Roman emperors did.

Some Roman towns were not looked after when the Romans left.

However, Anglo-Saxon coins and pottery found in these towns suggest that they grew in wealth and trade again once the Anglo-Saxons moved there.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today, and I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.