This monograph is based on the study of 1,300 antler and bone objects and 2,300 fragments of waste from excavations in Ipswich between 1974 and 1994. Most of the material comes from contexts of the seventh to the twelfth century, although there are small quantities of medieval objects and waste. The monograph is focused on the local craft activity in Ipswich in the Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods. It also includes objects that indicate links to the Continent, particularly northern France, Frisia and southern Scandinavia.

Several Roman bone and antler assemblages have been published in recent years, but very few of post-Roman date have appeared. It is an appropriate time, therefore, to publish the Ipswich material, which is undoubtedly one of the finest and largest collections in the country. The significance of discoveries from Ipswich has long been understood but has yet to be presented as a printed and digital resource. The monograph draws on the international significance of Ipswich as a place of regional craft production over a long period. It examines trade and exchange (including the possible exchange of raw materials), cultural affinities, comparative technologies and broader questions of itinerancy and the concept of the collective workshop.