ANGLO-SAXON REMAINS 



the people ot Essex, who probably reached the eastern slopes of the 

 Chilterns at one time, but were mainly confined to the north of Essex 

 and the neighbourhood of London. In fact, the few discoveries in their 

 district point rather to a connection with Kent than with Wessex, and 

 accord so far with the written records of the time. 



When history opens with the re-introduction of Christianity into 

 Britain at the close of the sixth century, Kent under Aethelbert is the 

 paramount power in the south-east, and is perhaps the one fully de- 

 veloped kingdom in the country. Whatever the meaning of the term 

 bretwalda applied to that monarch, it is likely that Aethelbert, the patron 

 of Mellitus, administered a certain territory north of the river. One of 

 his chief cares would doubtless be to control the great Roman roads 

 which were the natural continuations of the Watling Street from the 

 Straits of Dover to London ; and the task of guarding the highways 

 through Hertfordshire would perhaps account for the burial of charac- 

 teristic Kentish ornaments and other objects with their deceased owner, 

 in accordance with the pagan custom of the age. As London was the 

 centre of the Roman road system in this country, its master would not 

 only monopolize the commerce with the continent, but benefit by an 

 almost exclusive intercourse with the more highly civilized courts of 

 Europe and the authorities of the Roman church. 



Poor as Hertfordshire is in remains of the Anglo-Saxon period, it 

 has yet produced a remarkable object, the like of which has never been 

 found in these islands and but seldom on the continent. It is now 

 included in the national collection, and may be best described as a bronze 

 ewer (fig. 2), nearly 9 inches high, with a pear-shaped body, a short 

 curved spout, and a thin handle with a pellet at the top. The mouth is 

 circular, about 2 inches in diameter, and covered by a hinged lid of 

 moulded pyramidal form with a knob in the centre. The base is flat 

 and rests on three feet of somewhat peculiar form, which may be 

 compared with three attached to a shallow bro'nze bowl from the King's 

 Field, Faversham, also in the British Museum ; and in view of similar 

 discoveries on the Rhine both vessels may well be of the same date and 

 origin. 



According to the account 1 given by Mr. C. H. Read, through 

 whose exertions the ewer became public property, it was, with the 

 exception of the lid, cast in one piece and with considerable skill, the 

 inner surface being fairly smooth and the sides of an even thickness. It 

 is stated to have been found about 1886 in the neighbourhood of 

 Wheathampstead with a glass tumbler (fig. i) and several human skulls 

 described as male, as well as other bones, and some rings of bronze, 

 which are now lost sight of, but may have been the bands of a small 

 wooden bucket, such as are commonly met with in Anglo-Saxon burials. 



Once more the absence of any competent person to take notes on 

 the spot is to be regretted ; for though the discovery affords some fresh 

 information as to the early inhabitants of the county, it could perhaps 



1 Society of Antiquaries, Proceedings, rviii. no. 

 253 



