The south east of England includes material from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex.
The majority of objects in the British collections come from this area of England, mainly because this is the area where the Ashmolean is located and a large quantity of the museum's collections come from Oxfordshire and the surrounding counties.
The Wittenham Sword dates from the Late Iron Age (120 BC - AD 43). This fine example of an iron sword and bronze scabbard were found in the River Thames near Little Wittenham in Oxfordshire. Only about one in ten warriors would have carried a sword, making this quite a rare object.
Click to enlarge
Wittenham Sword (AN1982.1096)
The Ashmolean holds a rich collection of objects from the south east of England, including the following examples:
Gold earrings dating from the Early Bronze Age (c. 2400-2100 BC) found in a bural in Barrow 4a at Radley in Oxfordshire (AN1944.122a-b).
Hoard consisting of at least 24 pieces of pewter Roman tableware found at Appleford, Oxfordshire.
Reliquary casket which commemorates the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket (WA1947.191).
A large collection of glass wine bottles and seals. This example is from the Three Tuns Inn in Oxford (AN1874.47)
Find out more about:
- Highlights of the British Collection at the Ashmolean
- British Collections Online - searchable database of the collection
January 2012
