A distinct group of Anglo-Saxon women buried in eastern England were interred with hundreds of ivory rings, the origin of which has long puzzled researchers. The findings come from a body of work by British scientists published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports and cited in scholarly summaries.
The discoveries come from tombs unearthed by archaeologists during excavations in Lincolnshire conducted between 2017 and 2019. These graves date from the late fifth century to the middle of the sixth century AD. Ivory rings were found among the grave goods accompanying the women’s remains. Despite extensive disturbance from agricultural activity, forty-nine tombs remained surprisingly well preserved. Analyses indicate that the rings, which were used to embellish purses rather than worn as finger jewelry, were crafted from African elephant tusks rather than local sources.
For many years scholars believed the material derived from mammoths or walruses. In fact, the ivory originated from African elephants living during the fifth or sixth centuries AD. The study demonstrates that the ivory was mined roughly six thousand four hundred kilometers away from the cemeteries where the Anglo-Saxon rings were discovered. The rings themselves pose a puzzle: they are molded into circular forms compatible with a handbag design but are too large to function merely as rings for fingers. This suggests their role as decorative items tied to bags worn at the hip.
Researchers suggest that, because most of the rings lie close to the waist, the bags from which they hung carried additional items such as iron knives, copper-alloy belt fittings, and iron buckle mechanisms. The study authors note this arrangement as part of a broader ritual and daily-life framework that connected elite status with imported materials and distinctive personal adornment.
As part of the study, scientists examined a purse ring unearthed in an ancient cemetery near the village of Scrembie in Lincolnshire. The work indicates that the ivory used for Scrembie purse rings can be dated to the fifth and sixth centuries AD, reinforcing the idea of long-distance trade and exchange networks that brought African ivory into Anglo-Saxon Britain. The findings offer a window into socio-economic conditions of the period and invite reconsideration of how imported materials influenced fashion, status, and daily practice among early Anglo-Saxon elites.
Modern scholars emphasize the methodological rigor of the research. By combining typological analysis, radiocarbon dating where feasible, and comparative material studies, they reconstruct supply chains that extended across continents. The results invite a reappraisal of trade routes, diplomatic connections, and the place of luxury goods within the social hierarchy of early Anglo-Saxon society. This growing body of evidence helps illuminate how elite women expressed power and identity through carefully curated accoutrements that linked local life to distant regions of the world.
Overall, the work contributes to a nuanced picture of early medieval Britain, where imported materials like African ivory intersect with regional traditions. It underscores how grave goods reflect broader networks of exchange, social differentiation, and cultural exchange that shaped daily life, ceremonial practice, and material culture among the Anglo-Saxon elite. The discoveries at Scrembie and the Lincolnshire sites enrich our understanding of how luxury artifacts traveled across vast distances and how their presence in graves reveals the complexities of status, gender, and cosmopolitan connections in early medieval England.
In summary, these remarkable rings, found alongside other grave goods and positioned near the waist, point to a sophisticated system of adornment and utility. The African origin of the ivory highlights long-distance trade networks and the social significance of imported materials in shaping the material world of early Anglo-Saxon women.
Scholars remind readers that this evidence is part of an ongoing dialogue about how elites in early England accessed luxury goods and expressed identity through objects that transcended local resources. The research invites further exploration of the relationship between global trade and local cultural practices in the formation of early medieval society.