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 have used grave goods to make inferences about Anglo-Saxon Britain.

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

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 grave goods, artisan, garnet, Byzantium.

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

Grave goods.

Artisan.

Garnet.

Byzantium.

Good job.

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

Here are definitions for each of our keywords.

Grave goods are objects buried in people's graves, providing insights into their culture and daily life.

An artisan is a skilled craftsperson who creates objects by hand, often using traditional techniques and tools.

Garnet is a precious gemstone that comes in various colours, often used in jewellery and decorative items. Byzantium is the name of an ancient Greek city, now known as Istanbul, which was an important centre of trade and culture.

Pause the video here to make a note of these 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.

Exploring grave goods.

Discovering Sutton Hoo.

Anglo-Saxon artisans and traders.

In the first learning cycle, we will explore grave goods.

Archaeologists often use different sources to learn about the past.

One of the main sources of evidence archaeologists use to investigate the Anglo-Saxons are their grave goods.

These are items buried alongside individuals in ancient graves, which help archaeologists and historians understand the lives, beliefs, and cultures of the people who live during that time.

By looking at these, archaeologists can infer important information about who the people were, what life was like for them, and who they may have lived and traded with.

So you can see in that recreation of an Anglo-Saxon burial in that image there, you can see the different items that have been buried with that person.

Objects such as well-made jewellery, weapons, and everyday items found in graves, suggest that very skilled artisans lived in Anglo-Saxon society.

So have a look there.

This is one of the items found in Anglo-Saxon graves.

It's a purse clasp covered in gold and garnets.

Can you see all of that intricate detail, how fantastic that would've been to fact be? Look at all that fantastic detail, how fantastic that would've been to have found that item.

Through the study of grave goods, historians can get a good idea of Anglo-Saxon life and the society.

Here's a photo of another item found in an Anglo-Saxon grave.

It's a gold brooch.

Wonder who would've worn that type of brooch.

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

Why do archaeologists study grave goods? To see if they can sell them to make money.

To learn about people's lives in the past.

To use them as items in films about the past.

What do you think? Have a quick discussion with your partner.

Pause the video here, and when you are ready to continue, press play.

If you said, to learn about people's lives in the past, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

This brings us to our first learning task.

Think about the items that mean a lot to you and what you would want to represent you.

Choose one item.

Write one sentence to explain what you think an archaeologist could learn about your life from this item.

You can use the starter sentence to help you.

If archaeologists found my, they could learn that.

So fill in those two gaps there to write one sentence about an item that an archaeologist, if they found it, what they would learn about your life from it.

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

How did that go? Let's have a look at an example, shall we? So an example could be, if archaeologists found my bike, they could learn that I was someone who liked to travel or exercise.

Well done for completing that learning task.

We're now going to move on to the second part of this lesson.

We're going to explore discovering Sutton Hoo.

In 1938, archaeologists made an astonishing discovery in East Anglia in England, an Anglo-Saxon burial site known as Sutton Hoo.

So you can see on the map there the location of Sutton Hoo in East England.

And there's a photo of the actual burial mound at Sutton Hoo.

This site was very exciting for archaeologists as the remains of 27 meter-long boat were found.

Boat burials are very rare discoveries as only the most important Anglo-Saxons would've been buried alongside a boat.

Other remarkable grave goods were also found, including very detailed gold jewellery, silver plates, bowls, and a magnificent iron and bronze helmet.

These findings suggested that the burial site belonged to an Anglo-Saxon king.

Sadly, the king's name still remains a mystery to archaeologists.

You can see in that photo there, those are the actual archaeologists exploring the boat at Sutton Hoo.

How fantastic it would be to find, such a huge boat buried underground.

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

What was Sutton Hoo? A burial site that contained the grave goods of an Anglo-Saxon king.

The name of an Anglo-Saxon king who buried his grave goods with him.

A type of Anglo-Saxon jewellery that was commonly found in burial sites.

Pause the video here, have a quick discussion with your partner and restart the video when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said, a burial site that contained the grave goods of an Anglo-Saxon king, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Some of the most important finds at Sutton Hoo were parts of an iron and bronze Anglo-Saxon helmet, which has become known as the Sutton Hoo helmet.

At first, archaeologists discovered small pieces and carefully collected them and then later put them back together, like building a giant puzzle.

The archaeologists worked out that the parts were made for a helmet because of their shape, size, and material.

Once pieced together, archaeologists could make out images of fighting and dancing warriors as decoration on the helmet.

Archaeologists also realised that the front of the mask was designed like a dragon.

The dragon's wings make the eyebrows on the helmet and the dragon's tail, the moustache on the helmet.

Can you imagine how difficult it was to put this historical jigsaw together, all of those pieces to create the Sutton Hoo helmet? You can see in the photo there how fantastic it is.

This amazing discovery has been reconstructed to show people what the original may have looked like when it belonged to the Anglo-Saxon king.

Look at all of the amazing detail there on the iron and the bronze.

Can you see how the dragon makes up that centre with the eyebrows and the moustache? So it's important to have reconstructions of things to imagine what it would've looked like as well as the real thing.

As sword and parts that could be attached to the handle.

Were also found at Sutton Hoo.

The sword was made of bronze and many of the attachments were decorated in gold and garnets.

The precious materials used show that swords were a symbol of status and pride for Anglo-Saxons, especially for Anglo-Saxon kings, like the one buried at Sutton Hoo.

Archaeologists have even discovered from the position of the sword in the grave that the owner was likely left-handed.

The discovery of the helmets and sword showed archaeologists that warfare was an important part of Anglo-Saxon life.

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

Is this statement true or false? There is evidence that warfare was important to the Anglo-Saxons.

Is that true or false? If you said, true, that's absolutely right.

Well done.

How do we justify our answer? Let's look at these two statements.

The Anglo-Saxon king buried at Sutton Hoo held his sword in his left hand.

An impressive helmet and a sword with gold and garnet attachments was found at Sutton Hoo.

Which of these two statements helps to justify your answer? Have a discussion with your partner.

Pause the video here, and when you are ready to continue, press play.

What did you think? If you said that an impressive helmet and a bronze sword with gold and garnet attachments was found at Sutton Hoo.

You are absolutely right.

Well done.

This brings us to our second learning task.

I'd like you to complete the label for the Sutton Hoo helmet reconstruction for a museum display.

So your label might include, this is an, it is made from, it was recreated by, it tells us that.

So use each of those sentence starters to create this label for the Sutton Hoo helmet reconstruction for that museum display.

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

How did that go? Shall we take a look at what you could have written? This is an Anglo-Saxon helmet.

It is made from iron and bronze.

It was recreated by archaeologists.

It tells us that warfare was an important part of Anglo-Saxon life.

Well done for completing that learning task.

We're now ready to move on the third part of this lesson.

We're going to explore Anglo-Saxon artisans and traders.

A lot of the grave goods found at Sutton Hoo show that the Anglo-Saxons were skilled artisans.

For example, the detailed gold and bronze jewellery and copper bowl found were handcrafted items with beautiful designs.

Similarly, archaeologists even discovered the remains of luxurious textiles and leather shoes, which would've taken a lot of skill and time to make.

Take a look at that photo there of a shoulder clasp with garnets, all of that amazing detail.

There is also lots of evidence to show that at the time of the Anglo-Saxons, things were transported to Britain from far away places.

Some objects found at Sutton Hoo were covered with garnets that may have come from India! So have a look there.

That photo of a piece of gold, Anglo-Saxon jewellery with garnets.

It may have come all the way from India.

And there are also silver plates and bowls from Byzantium.

Items from Anglo-Saxon Britain were also found elsewhere in the world.

In Rome, a special coin was found with Arabic writing and an Anglo-Saxon king's face on it.

Together, these artefacts show that the Anglo-Saxons may have had trade networks with other countries across the globe, and they traded with people from these far away places.

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

Is this statement true or false? There is evidence that the Anglo-Saxons were skilled artisans.

Hmm.

Is that true or false? What do you think? If you said, that's true.

You are absolutely right.

So how do we justify our answer? Let's take a look at these two statements.

Detailed, handcrafted items with beautiful designs were found at Sutton Hoo.

Detailed items with beautiful designs that came from Byzantium were found at Sutton Hoo.

So which of these two statements helps to justify your answer? Have a discussion with your partner.

Pause the video here, and when you are ready to continue, press play.

What did you think? If you said that detailed handcrafted items with beautiful designs were found at Sutton Hoo, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

And let's do another check.

How do historians know that the Anglo-Saxons traded with other parts of the world? Artefacts that were made by the Anglo-Saxons have been found in different parts of the world.

Artefacts found at Sutton Hoo came from Byzantium and some items were decorated with garnets from India.

And a boat was found at Sutton Hoo with notes saying where they had been.

Hmm, have a discussion with your partner.

Out of these statements.

How do historians know that the Anglo-Saxons traded with other parts of the world? Which ones would you select? Pause the video here and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said, the artefacts that were made by the Anglo-Saxons have been found in different parts of the world.

And artefacts found at Sutton Hoo came from Byzantium and some items were decorated with garnets from India.

You are absolutely right.

Well done.

This brings us to our final learning task.

Can you complete the following sentences using evidence from this lesson? Archaeologists know that the Anglo-Saxons were skilled artisans because.

Archaeologists know that Anglo-Saxons traded with other countries because.

To pause the video here, make sure you've got yourself a pen and some paper to complete these sentences.

Give yourself enough time and press play when you are ready to continue.

How did that go? Shall we take a look at some answers? So your answers could have included.

Archaeologists know that the Anglo-Saxons were skilled artisans because they found lots of beautifully crafted jewellery in Anglo-Saxon graves, like at the Sutton Hoo burial site.

Archaeologists know that Anglo-Saxons traded with other countries because they have found silver bowls from Byzantium and garnet gemstones, maybe from India at the Sutton Hoo burial site.

Well done for completing that learning task.

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

One of the main sources of evidence archaeologists use to investigate the Anglo-Saxons are their grave goods.

The Sutton Hoo burial site was discovered in East Anglia in 1938.

A boat found at the site suggests it belonged to an Anglo-Saxon king.

An iron and bronze helmet and weapons found show how important warfare was to the Anglo-Saxons.

Detailed gold and bronze jewellery suggest that the Anglo-Saxons was skilled artisans.

Some pieces at Sutton Hoo contain garnets that probably came from India and silver plates and bowls from Byzantium.

This suggests that the Anglo-Saxons were traders across the globe.

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

See you next time!.