A probable elephant ivory ring from an early Anglo-Saxon bag, found at Ruskington, Lincolnshire; well over 100 are known from England and such rings were cut from the base of tusk of an African savannah elephant.pic.twitter.com/fzSYh8xf2t
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(Incidentally, the above maps are from http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935413.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199935413-e-46 … & https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352226716300095 …; note, the finds of Indo-Pacific beads from Kofun Japan are even more numerous than those from the Yayoi period).
Some Indo-Pacific beads found in Japan; for more on such finds, see 'The Far East, Southeast and South Asia: Indo-Pacific Beads from Yayoi Tombs as Indicators of Early Maritime Exchange', by Oga Katsuhiko & Sunil Gupta — https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02666030.2000.9628581?needAccess=true …pic.twitter.com/FvFHQkDR8m
Of course, not just Indo-Pacific beads found in Kofun Japan; here's a Roman glass bead found in the early 5th-century AD Utsukushi no.1 burial mound in Nagaoka-kyo, Japan: http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/17691 pic.twitter.com/os8IhYwyAO
Returning to the far west of Eurasia, here's an excellent paper on Red Sea/Indian Ocean trade with western Europe and England in the 5th–7thC focusing on elephant ivory rings: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uvN7DgAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA131#v=onepage&q&f=false …pic.twitter.com/LP3HlDXnS1
Well over 100 elephant ivory rings—cut from the base of a tusk of an African savannah elephant—are known from 5th- to 7th-century England alone, with many more known from continental cemeteries; the latter are thought to reflect 'a heavy inflow of the material' in the 5th–7thC.pic.twitter.com/9UnWvooSv2
The distribution of Red Sea/Indian Ocean cowrie shells in 6th- to 7th-century NW Europe; like ivory rings, they are found in substantial quantities and over a large geographical range: https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/GCMS/RMS-2006-07_J._Drauschke,_%27Byzantine%27_and_%27oriental%27_imports_in_the_Merovingian_Empire.pdf …pic.twitter.com/VLK6nU3Gy8
Fwiw, Drauschke notes for NW Europe as a whole that Red Sea/Indian Ocean goods are not only found in large+increasing quantities in the 6th- to 7th-centuries, but are also not 'components only of high-status graves', esp. c.570–680, a point Hills likewise makes for ivory rings…
Importantly, similar points can be made re: the Indo-Pacific beads found in their thousands in early medieval Europe, which occur in graves presenting 'varying “degrees of richness”. The beads thus do not appear to be the prerogative of a privileged few': https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352226716300095 …pic.twitter.com/wL0jTLxVqd
Two more imported elephant ivory rings found in Anglo-Saxon graves, from Sleaford (Lincolnshire) and Dover (Kent): http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=96898&partId=1 … & http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?assetId=755613001&objectId=1341153&partId=1 …pic.twitter.com/h5HL1R3PZB
A 6th-century Frankish bird brooch decorated with Indian garnets and a pearl: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464859 …pic.twitter.com/giSAtwMKA7
A cowrie shell from the Red Sea or Indian Ocean found in an Anglo-Saxon grave in Lincolnshire: http://www.caitlingreen.org/2018/07/indo-pacific-beads-europe.html …pic.twitter.com/uuH1VV03d3
A 7th-centuy Frankish brooch set with garnets and a sapphire that probably originated in Sri Lanka: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/465373 …pic.twitter.com/qkF500OBCQ
Votive crown of King Recceswinth, 7thC AD, made of gold, rock crystal, pearls and sapphires: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orfebrería_visigoda_en_el_MAN_(14234939376)_(2).jpg …pic.twitter.com/wfVa66oAmw
A late 5th-/early 6th-century paten made from gold, turquoise and Indian/Sri Lankan garnets; found with early 6th-century Byzantine coins and a chalice near Gourdon, France: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trésor_de_Gourdon_02.JPG …pic.twitter.com/UuO541gbks
Fascinating stuff! You are a great follow Dr. Green
Glad you enjoy! :)
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