The burial of the early medieval Swallowcliffe Princess is one of the most important displays in the Wessex Gallery at The Salisbury Museum. Her grave goods include many rare objects including the wonderful gold and silver satchel mount which is used as a symbol of the museum.
This beautiful gold and silver satchel mount is from a richly furnished and important Anglo-Saxon burial of a young woman, aged between 18 and 25, found on Swallowcliffe Down in 1966. She was placed on a wooden bed with a number of carefully selected artefacts, though the grave was later disturbed in the 19th century, so some artefacts and part of the skeleton were missing.
The satchel mount was an important prestige item, forming a six petalled flower, with 19 gold and silver repoussé foils, created from seven different designs. Repoussé decoration is produced when thin metal is hammered from the reverse side to create a design. There is possible Christian symbolism in the design, as the gold and silver foils can be arranged from a Maltese cross, examples of which can be found in Christian Anglo-Saxon jewellery.[i] We are unsure who the buried woman was, but the ancient location she was found in, combined with the significance of the artefacts, suggests that she was a noble woman or even a princess.
Indications of early settlement have been found on Swallowcliffe Down, which suggest habitation dating back to Mesolithic times. There is evidence of an Iron Age farmstead where the boundaries of Ansty, Swallowcliffe and Alvediston now meet, as well as storage pits suggesting the presence of farmers and weavers.[ii] The Swallowcliffe Princess may have presided over this area in her own right, with the location of her burial suggesting a greater connection to the local area and landscape, than that of a traveller to the area.
The name Swallowclifee means ‘swallow cliff or slope’ and has been known since the Saxon times as ‘The Cliff of the Swallow,’ a local joke. It was first recorded in AD940, when King Edmund established a Charter for the land. The Swallowcliffe borders with Alvediston, Ebbesbourne Wake, Tisbury, Wardour, and Sutton Mandeville, have changed little since 940.[iii]
The Domesday book completed in 1086, indicates that there were seven households in the area, and 8.5 hides of land that were taxed. Swallowcliffe was divided into three parts. The first held by Wilton Abbey included one unfree tenant and two smallholders, two ploughlands and two acres of meadow. The second was owned by Alward and comprised two unfree tenants and 1.5 ploughlands and the third was owned by Brictric and comprised two unfree tenants and one ploughland; the total value was just under £5 and the population was approximately 40 – 60 people at this time.
Major Lance Vatcher, on behalf of the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, revealed a very rare and large Anglo Saxon grave and a primary burial in a bronze age bowl barrow. The grave contained many significant finds, the reveal burial ritual links to possessions, and their domestic uses. These finds included:
[i] The Salisbury Museum Facebook page. Video: The Swallowcliffe Princess
[ii] The Salisbury Museum Collections Swallowcliffe mount
[iii] Swallowclife Village
[iv] Ordinance survey map: Explorer 118
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Males great bustards perform spectacular courtship displays, gathering at a ‘lek’ or small display ground to try to impress the females.
The great bustard has a dignified slow walk but tends to run when disturbed, rather than fly.
The hen-bird on display at The Salisbury Museum was one of the last great bustards to be eaten in the town!