Stycas, kings and Vikings: the copper-alloy revolution in 9th-century England

斯提卡斯、国王和维京人：9 世纪英格兰的铜合金革命

• 批准号: 2280193
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of York
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2280193
• 关键词: Stycas; kings; Vikings; copper; alloy

"This PhD will shed new light on copper-alloy stycas, the most common early medieval English coins. They were minted in the 9th-century kingdom of Northumbria, replacing its silver coinage, and it is usually argued that stycas ceased being minted and used by 867, as repeated Viking attacks and civil war undermined Northumbrian royal authority. When minting resumed in Northumbria c.900 it was by Viking kings in York using silver. However, there is growing evidence to suggest stycas continued to be used, and perhaps even minted, into the late 9th century (Woods 2019). Hundreds have recently turned up in tightly-dated, metal-detected assemblages linked to the Viking 'Great Army' that raided England from the late 860s: e.g. their camps of the 870s at Torksey (Lincs) and Aldwark (Yorks). As well as using them for trade, there is now evidence the Vikings 'imitated' stycas, suggested by a) their illiterate inscriptions, mirroring other early Viking coinages in Britain; and b) the pairing of dies used by different Northumbrian kings to produce 'irregular' looking coins. This new evidence has profound implications, as stycas have long provided essential dating evidence for 9th-century northern England, but we appear to have been dating key sites far too early. Filling a perceived gap in the 9th-century archaeological record is crucial to understanding a period of immense change, as Vikings raided and conquered the Northumbrian kingdom, transforming its economy.By examining the new evidence for official Northumbrian issues from clearly Viking contexts we can trace how long stycas continued to circulate after they were minted; e.g. the Torksey camp (dated by documentary sources to 873) contains stycas minted in the 840s. I will also seek to establish how long, and by whom, stycas were minted, by distinguishing official issues from Viking copies (with their illiterate inscriptions and irregular die linking). This will also reveal the scale on which the Vikings minted imitations, with major implications for understanding their economic activities. I will also examine other evidence for use of copper alloy as a medium of exchange by the Vikings, through finds of cu-alloy ingots and hack metal on the winter camps and in hoards, and metal-detected finds on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database. Together this will provide an important contrast to traditional emphasis on the Viking silver economy, enabling new perspectives on the scale of the base-metal economy.The late Liz Pirie's 1996 published styca catalogue is the major resource for the many dies used to mint this innovative coinage, but is now out of date concerning their historical context, being written long before any possible Viking influence on their distribution and production was suspected. I will begin by cataloguing stycas that have emerged since 1996, largely via the advent of metal-detecting: the PAS records over 700 further specimens from across England. There are also newly recorded assemblages at Viking camps (205 from Torksey; 90 from Aldwark) and hoards at Bamburgh (125) and Whitby (130; found in the 1930s but only recently catalogued by Woods). Assemblages curated by YMT include the St Leonard's Place (York) and Bolton Percy (Yorks) hoards, comprising 3700 stycas. These have been traditionally dated to the 860s, but contain hitherto unrecognised imitations and so appear to be of rather later date, and in need of fresh examination. These two major hoards have been thoroughly catalogued and their dies matched, meaning that they provide a basis for comparison to other assemblages. I will also examine the small number of styca collections in Scandinavian museums, whose find contexts will add to the evidence for the duration, and nature, of use of stycas by the vikings. In sum, this PhD will present a reappraisal of a coinage whose analytical potential has not been fully appreciated, and provide a much-needed update on the standard reference work for the field."

“这个博士学位将为中世纪早期最常见的英国硬币铜合金斯蒂卡提供新的线索。它们是在9世纪的诺森布里亚王国铸造的，取代了它的银王冠，通常认为，由于维京海盗人的反复袭击和内战破坏了诺森布里亚皇家的权威，867年时，斯蒂卡就不再铸造和使用了。大约900年，诺森布里亚重新开始铸造银币，当时约克的维京海盗国王使用银。然而，越来越多的证据表明，到了世纪晚期，stycas仍然被使用，甚至可能被铸造（Woods 2019）。最近发现的数百件化石都与9世纪60年代末袭击英格兰的维京海盗“大军”有关，它们的年代非常接近，而且都被金属探测到了。例如，9世纪70年代维京海盗在托克西（Lincs）和阿尔德瓦克（Yorks）的营地。除了用于贸易之外，现在还有证据表明维京人“模仿”了斯蒂卡，这表现在：a）他们的文盲铭文，与英国其他早期维京海盗人的硬币相似; B）不同的诺森伯兰国王使用成对的模具来生产“不规则"的硬币。这一新证据具有深远的意义，因为冥河长期以来一直为9世纪北方英格兰提供重要的年代测定证据，但我们似乎过早地确定了关键地点的年代。填补9世纪考古记录中的一个已知空白，对于理解一个巨大变化的时期至关重要，因为维京人袭击并征服了诺森伯兰王国，改变了它的经济。通过研究来自明确的维京海盗背景的官方诺森伯兰问题的新证据，我们可以追溯stycas在铸造后持续流通了多久;例如，托克西营地（文献资料来源可追溯到873年）包含9世纪40年代铸造的stycas。我还将通过区分官方发行的与维京海盗的副本（带有文盲铭文和不规则的模具链接），试图确定斯蒂卡的铸造时间和铸造者。这也将揭示维京人铸造仿制品的规模，对理解他们的经济活动具有重要意义。我还将研究维京人使用铜合金作为交换媒介的其他证据，通过在冬季营地和囤积物中发现的铜合金锭和黑客金属，以及在便携式文物计划数据库中发现的金属。这将与传统上对维京海盗银经济的强调形成重要对比，使人们对贱金属经济的规模有了新的看法。已故的Liz Pirie在1996年出版的styca目录是用于铸造这种创新的硬币的许多模具的主要资源，但现在关于它们的历史背景已经过时了，早在维京海盗人对它们的分布和生产产生任何可能的影响之前，它们就已经被写好了。我将开始对自1996年以来出现的冥河进行编目，主要是通过金属探测的出现：PAS记录了来自英格兰各地的700多个标本。在维京海盗营地也有新记录的聚集地（205个来自托克塞; 90个来自阿尔德瓦克），在班堡（125个）和惠特比（130个;发现于20世纪30年代，但最近才被伍兹编目）。由YMT策划的集合包括圣伦纳德的地方（约克）和博尔顿珀西（约克）囤积，包括3700冥河。这些传统上被追溯到9世纪60年代，但包含迄今未被承认的仿制品，因此似乎是相当晚的日期，需要重新检查。这两个主要的窖藏已经被彻底编目，他们的模具匹配，这意味着他们提供了一个与其他组合进行比较的基础。我还将研究斯堪的纳维亚博物馆中少量的冥河藏品，这些藏品的发现将为维京人使用冥河的持续时间和性质提供证据。总之，这个博士将提出一个重新评估的分析潜力还没有得到充分的赞赏，并提供了一个急需的更新标准参考工作的领域。"