‘For a quart of ale is a dish for a king!’ Malting, beer-making and beer in the mid Anglo-Saxon period
Reserach Interests
Archaeobotany, Anglo-Saxon England, Europe 400-900 A.D.
My research focuses on a mid Saxon cereal processing complex at Sedgeford in Northwest Norfolk. Careful archaeobotanical analysis strongly supports the hypothesis that this is in fact a malting complex. Dating broadly from 775-925 A.D. Sedgeford's is the earliest malting complex so far identified in Anglo-Saxon England. Further analyses, including functional weed ecology, geometric morphometrics and carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis will facilitate understanding of the cultivation methods used for cereals malted at the site - enabling me to situate mid Saxon Sedgeford within the mid Saxon agricultural 'revolution'. More broadly, I frame my findings within the wider context of beer production, exchange and consumption across East Anglia, Anglo-Saxon England and early medieval Europe - each undergoing significant transitions in this key historical period.
