[gothic-l] Goths and Sutton Hoo

[Tim O'Neill]

--- In gothic-l at y..., Tore Gannholm <tore.gannholm at s...> wrote:

> Why I got the idea about the Goths going to England was Sutton Hoo.
> There are various things that can be linked to Gotland and the
> Gotlanders (Gutarna) but also to their cousins the Ostrogoths.

As several people have commented, there are many items found at
Sutton Hoo which can be linked to all sorts of places.  That doesn't
mean that people *from* those places are associated with Sutton Hoo
or early East Anglia.  There are many other things found at Sutton
Hoo which exhibit similar artistic styles to items found at other
major sites (eg Vendel and Valsgarde).  But considering items of a
similar style and exhibiting identical motifs and designs have also
been found in other parts of the Germanic world it's also hard to
tell if these similarities represent a direct connection or a shared
Germanic artistic and stylistic milleau.

Which items at Sutton Hoo can be linked to Gotland and why should
these links be taken as being more significant than similar links
with other areas?  Given that the Goths probably left Gotland about
600 years before the Sutton Hoo burial, why should items linked to
*Gotland* be an indication of a link to *the Goths* (whose links to
Gotland were, at best, remote)?  Finally, what items at Sutton Hoo
are linked to the Ostrogoths?  So far all you've mentioned is an
eastern Roman dish from the same time as the Ostrogothic Italian
kingdom, but which has no connection to or association with the Goths
in any way.

> However I agree with you that there should have been coins there.

It's not just the lack of coins, it's the lack of any artefacts
connected to the Goths at all, coupled with no evidence that any
Goths ever got anywhere near Britain.  I'd say this idea falls into
the category of an interesting possibility which doesn't really stand
up to sustained scrutiny due to a lack of any corroborating evidence.
Cheers,

Tim O'Neill



------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~>
eGroups is now Yahoo! Groups
Click here for more details
http://click.egroups.com/1/11231/1/_/3398/_/980900852/
---------------------------------------------------------------------_->

You are a member of the Gothic-L list.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to <gothic-l-unsubscribe at egroups.com>.
Homepage: http://www.stormloader.com/carver/gothicl/index.html