Signals of Belief in Early England

Sarah Semple is Professor in Archaeology at Durham University. Her research interests range from early medieval funerary archaeology to monuments and buildings as well as sculpture and particularly understanding the landscape context and sensory impacts of monuments. She is co-editor of A Cultural History of Objects in the Medieval Age (with Julie Lund, 2022).

• Foreword: Heathen Songs and Devil's Games (Neil Price)1. Agency, Intellect and the Archaeological Agenda (Martin Carver)2. In the Open Air (Sarah Semple)3. At the Water's Edge (Julie Lund)4. At the Funeral (Howard Williams)5. In the Hall (Jenny Walker)6. Animal Magic (Aleks Pluskowski)7. Horses in Mind (Chris Fern)8. Living On: Ancestors and the Soul (Alexandra Sanmark)9. Creating the Pagan English (Sue Content and Howard Williams)Afterword: Caveats and Futures (Ronald Hutton)

Signals of Belief in Early England is a hugely welcome addition to the literature of Anglo-Saxon paganism. Any reader interested in the subject will find new and thought-provoking arguments, as well as superb examples of current archaeological approaches to understanding religion.' -- Fortean Times Fortean Times Introduced by Martin Carvers magisterial (and sometimes magnificently contrarian) overview, eight scholars here set out to approach pre-Christian belief on its own terms rather than through the lens of Church commentary, teasing insight from the intersections of archaeology, history and cultural anthropology. Stimulating and provocative, and emphasising the local, contextual and contingent, these essays succeed most when engaging directly with the material evidence and near-contemporary texts.' -- British Archaeology British Archaeology This book wholly succeeds in its task of furthering our understanding of the signals eloquent of the beliefs of the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons, and will provide a starting-point for future attempts to understand the beliefs themselves.' -- Archaeological Review from Cambridge Archaeological Review from Cambridge "...essential reading for all readers with an interest in Anglo-Saxon archaeology" -- Robert J Wallis Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture