Silver, Status and Society - the transition from Late Roman to Early Medieval Europe

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Power and prestige in Europe during the first millennium AD is predominately expressed in two portable materials: silver and gold. These precious metals underpinned the emergence of early medieval kingdoms in Europe by providing the raw materials for prestige objects that were used to create, contest and reflect status within and between societies. While parts of Europe favoured gold, in Scotland silver was the most important precious metal for over 600 years (AD400-1000). Silver had been introduced to Scotland by Rome (via subsidies, military pay, diplomacy and loot) and rapidly became a vital means of expressing power and prestige in the lands beyond the frontier, albeit one that carried Imperial 'baggage'. Recent discoveries of Late Roman and Early Medieval silver hoards in Scotland, and re-evaluation of existing hoards, has highlighted the need to connect with those working on comparable material elsewhere in Europe. The network Silver, Status and Society will provide an opportunity to maximise the momentum building from two existing programmes of national research on silver to develop, for the first time, a comparative international and cross-disciplinary study of this powerful and valuable material, during this pivotal period in Europe's history. Silver provides a key source of evidence for understanding reactions to the political vacuum caused by the disintegration of the Roman Empire and the emergence of the early medieval kingdoms of Europe, but research has been inhibited by national boundaries and divides between academic disciplines. Bringing together academics, museum professionals, early career researchers and doctoral students, will create lasting cross-disciplinary connections between those involved in the discovery, curation, research and public presentation of early medieval silver from across northern Europe. The network will place an emerging field of study in the UK into an international context by providing insights into comparable material, alternative methodologies, and interpretative models. This will provide a platform from which to compare and contrast different strategies towards the supply, circulation and use of silver following the collapse of the Roman Empire and to explore the role of this precious metal in the emergence of the early medieval kingdoms of Europe. The findings of the Silver, Status and Society network will be disseminated publically through an open day conference in Edinburgh, and via the existing public programmes activity of the Glenmorangie Research Project on Early Medieval Scotland (based at National Museums Scotland www.nms.ac.uk/earlymedieval), including a special exhibition in Edinburgh and publication of a popular book in 2017. Academic dissemination will be through two symposia, one in the UK and one in Denmark, and the publication of a volume of papers drawn from them.