ABSTRACT
The study of technology is important in its own right, but it also deepens our understanding of a society as a whole because it is intimately connected with both the way in which people are organised and the structure of the economy. We may examine the technologies applied to the basic raw materials used in early Anglo-Saxon society-wood, metal, clay, fibres and minerals —paying particular attention to aspects that are peculiar to the period and leaving the general matters of technology as understood. We must also give some consideration to composite commodities. Of equal importance are the source and nature of the raw materials and the effort and organisation that lie behind the crafts and skills described.
