The graves of Anglo-Saxon women

The graves of Anglo-Saxon women have provided various objects that provide clues about their lives and status. One Anglo-Saxon woman's grave in Canterbury seems to be of a high status woman as it contained lots of fine jewellery. A brooch of foreign silver and garnet, likely to be a gift from the Kentish king, shows women could hold high status. Girdle-hangers have been found, imitating keys or latch-lifters, suggesting women controlled access to the home. Alongside domestic goods in female graves, they seem to symbolise the idea that women controlled access to the home.