Comb news!

What we've left behind

I have lost my necklace. I loved that necklace - it has two lockets which were purchased from an antique store in Dartmoor, where the owner gave me two comb fragments for free, after I told him what I studied. It has my lucky chicken bone charm, which my mum gave me after my undergraduate graduation. It has my axe charm that Ellis gave me because he thought I needed an axe round my neck, which made me feel so seen and loved I honestly might cry all over again.

I have been a person who loses things my entire life. Things have been left behind at school, friends houses, libraries, bars. I have lost bracelets, rings, keys, among other things. I have many an item of clothing that will wake me up in the middle of the night when I remember it is no longer with me. Most recently, a uniqlo jumper that had been shrunk to my perfect fit, which has disappeared forever.

In the face of all the things I have lost I think about history. I think about how little we’d know about the past if people hadn’t dropped things, or forgotten them, or left them behind. I think of the comb found in Radley Barrows, a site outside Oxfordshire.

Radley Barrows is one of the rarer examples of a ‘transition site’ - one which was in use throughout Roman times and continued to be in use after they ‘left’, c.410. These are exceptionally useful for any historian interested in the early medieval period, as we can see how and whether life changed post Roman occupation. This site was in use in both the Neolithic and then Bronze Ages for burials. The Romans had a cemetery there too, and then it seems that in the early fifth century, around the time of the official withdrawal of the Roman army, a settlement was established.

There are 23 combs recovered from the settlement. The most highly decorated was not in the graves but found in ‘Sunken Feature Building 12’, or SFB12. This was one of the largest medieval structures, positioned on the Western edge of the settlement, next to what is described as the ‘oval’ Neolithic barrow and to SFB9.

The oval barrow consists of a central mound, within which a male and female, both 30-35 years of age, were buried. The female is curled up with her head facing SW, a flint knife next to it. The male is also curled up, their legs overlapping, his head facing NE. He has a flint arrowhead near him. Their grave was added to over the years, with further ditches dug around, possibly to add to the barrow mound. Red deer antler and human skull fragments were placed into the fills. Posts were put in.

In the medieval period a building (SFB9) was constructed on top of this. Who knows how much of the original structure remained. The building is not dug as deep into the ground as others in the settlement - they probably knew there were things underneath them not worth disturbing. Some of the ditches were turned into rubbish heaps.

SFB12 is slightly to the East of this. As said, it is one of the largest structures as part of the settlement - it might have been a Hall. It has a well-preserved bone comb which is now not on display at the Ashmolean, which still has its remaining suspension loop.

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Maybe someone discarded it on purpose, or perhaps it slipped off their belt during festivities. Maybe someone left it behind in a rush to leave. Maybe they woke up wondering where it had escaped to.

I want my necklace back. I don’t want it to be unearthed in years to come. But if that is what is meant to happen, then I suppose I hope the earth looks after it nicely, and people in the future speak of the woman who wore it fondly.

Other!

• I’m making vision boards tonight! Planning on manifesting the return of my necklace, and other successes.

• Ethel Cain new album! Big fan of popular artists doing weird stuff, even if said weird stuff isn’t to my taste. Punisher, however, has gone straight on the ‘smutty Viking’ playlist.

• This New Year has made me come slightly apart at the seams, as 2025 will be a year of big things (mainly, Thesis). One constant is my sesame peanut noodle recipe, which has been my hyperfixation meal for over a year now. I add whatever vegetables I have in the fridge, pickled red onions or spring onions, and chilli crisp.