This amazing bone comb was found in the deposits at the top of the “new” well (actually, the well pre-dates that excavated in 2024) on the penultimate day of the 2025 dig.
The dig director, Prof. Gabor Thomas, has shown a photograph of the comb to the country’s leading expert on Anglo-Saxon bone artifacts, Ian Riddler, who has described it as a “very high quality piece”.
With no rivets for reinforcing pieces visible (see the previous post on bone combs), it is not currently possible to precisely type the comb, but we can say that the style is rare and it is most likely to date between the 7th and 9th centuries.
We hope to find more of the comb next year which should make dating more certain. In the meantime, it certainly reinforces our picture of the Abbey as a very high-status establishment.