ABSTRACT
The Germanic peoples who migrated to Britain in the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries came from a number of different north German, or south Scandanavian tribes. All the peoples had peculiar cultural characteristics that identified them as being to some extent different from their neighbours. The distribution of metalwork and pottery suggests that in the first half of the fifth century many Saxon communities were established in what was to become traditionally Anglian territory. Many were in close proximity to Roman roads and towns and may have been part of a planned deployment. The early rulers, who claimed divine descent, appealed not only to pre-conversion society in England. The themes of agricultural life and developing trade provide a balance to the martial themes that dominate the English literary sources. The early English communities were probably added to each spring as new immigrants made the sea crossing to Britain.
