Brighton in the Dark Ages

Friday 29th July was the Day of Archaeology 2011. It provided the opportunity to find out all about the world of archaeology, with 400 archaeologists blogging about their work. So, with this in mind, here’s a look at a local discovery revealing another slice of Brighton’s history.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In 1884, during the building of St Luke’s Church hall in Exeter Street, two adult male burials were uncovered with grave goods including shield bosses and spear heads. Later, in 1893, three shield bosses and a sword unearthed in Stafford Road were presented to Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. These discoveries suggested the existence of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in the area.

In 1985, building works at a house off Stafford Road triggered an archaeological rescue operation when workmen uncovered more Anglo-Saxon burials. Over a Bank Holiday weekend, the remains of three skeletons were uncovered, two male and one female, all dating from around the 6^th Century AD. One of the males had died aged about 30 from a serious head wound inflicted by a sword and his skull also exhibited an earlier healed head wound from which he had survived. He was buried with his shield, spear and possibly an iron knife. There is no evidence of cause of death for the other male, aged about 35-40. He was fairly tall at 5’ 11” and robust, although his dental health was poor, demonstrated by evidence of tooth loss and abscesses.

The female skeletal remains were disturbed and damaged by the workmen. However it was determined that she was aged around 40-45 when she died, comparatively old for the early Anglo-Saxon period, and also had poor dental health. She was buried with objects which were likely of most value to her including two copper alloy brooches, two copper alloy rings and a pair of copper alloy tweezers.

Life for these early Saxon settlers appears to have been relatively short-lived and sometimes pretty brutal. Suffering a violent death was not uncommon and life expectancy beyond the age of 40 appears to of been rare. The deficient dental health of two of the skeletons indicates a fairly poor diet and lack of personal hygiene, all of which would have increased vulnerability to disease. This small insight into life in Brighton during the early Anglo-Saxon period suggests it may have been at times somewhat bleak.

Andy, Volunteer Local History & Archaeology

Object of the Month — Royal Pavilion Weather Vane

Royal Pavilion Weather Vane

These coming days should be the warmest days of our summer, when all the main crops of food grown in Britain should be ripening for harvest. Prolonged wet weather can mean crops are spoilt. In this age of global food production and delivery, local weather variations seem less important, but in the early 19th century it was critical time for food production.

There were no weather satellites to predict long-term weather patterns and local people relied on their knowledge of the weather patterns in their area to plan harvest times. This understanding was helped by readily visible shared information gained from indicators such as weather vanes.

South Gate and Castle Square in 1839

The word ‘vane’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘fana’ meaning ‘flag’. Weather or wind vanes have been in use for over 2,000 years. They are decorative features placed high on buildings. When caught by the wind they swivel to predict the coming weather by indicating the steadiness and direction of any breezes. In Brighton, for instance, wind from the South West might mean warm rain, while a change to wind from the North might mean cold weather coming.

Royal Pavilion Water Tower

In the entrance to the Royal Pavilion can be seen the dragon weather vane from the old Clock, or Water Tower, of the Royal Pavilion. The Tower was added to the building in 1816, to house the great water tank needed to provide the pressure to supply piped water to the rooms in the Royal Pavilion. The vane stood on top of the tower 35 feet above the roof line and was clearly visible from North Street, providing weather information to all the inhabitants of Brighton, whether fishermen, farmers or visitors.

The tower stood behind now what is Pavilion Buildings, but the building was demolished in 1888 as it was thought to be unsafe. Only the weather vane remains as a golden reminder of times Past.

Janet Brough, Paintings Conservator