Circle-and-Dot Antler Stamp Recreation
This object is an antler stamp carved circle-and-dot pattern found at the Lakenheath archaeological site in Suffolk. Designed to leave a concentric target-shaped indentation when pressed onto semi-dry (leather-hard) clay, stamps like this allowed Early English potters to create highly decorated cremation urns. These urns, imbued with significant spiritual and cultural significance, served as important religious vessels for many of the Germanic settlers of what is now Eastern England. The presence of these stamps and urns across English archeological sites imply a wide variety of funerary practices were employed throughout the migration period of English history (late 4th to mid 5th centuries). This diversity is particularly poignant when these artifacts are viewed in the context of their discovery, as they are often found in graveyards containing both cremated and inhumane remains, highlighting the cultural diversity of the migration period.
To better understand the material life of this era, I constructed a replica of the Lakenheath circle-and-dot antler stamp. For ease of manipulation and ready availability, wood was chosen as the medium to recreate this stamp. Branches and sticks from maple trees in Carleton College’s Cowling Arboretum were collected and left to dry outside for several days. After drying, the samples’ bark was removed and the bare wood began to be carved. As the size and dimension of the Lakenheath circle-and-dot stamp were not readily available, a length of 4-1/4 inches and a diameter 2-1/8 inches was used for the construction of the replica. Reconstructing the Lakenheath stamp highlights an important aspect of historical and historiographical research: the tendency towards teleology. The rather humbling process of constructing a facsimile of an outdated ancient artifact serves as a reminder of the timeliness of all peoples, striking a blow against notions of directional development and human progress peddled by many early historians such as monk Bede.
