RECENT EXCAVATIONS (1986-2001) AT SUTTON HOO

Recent Excavations (1986-2001) At Sutton Hoo

Recent Excavations (1986-2001) At Sutton Hoo

Sutton Hoo is near Woodbridge, and Suffolk is an Anglo-Saxon cemetery and the site of an early 7th century ship burial. The ship-burial was discovered in 1939 and contained a wealth of artefacts. Sutton Hoo is of primary importance to early medieval historians because it sheds light on a period in English history that otherwise has little documented evidence remaining - it has been called "page one of English history". It is one of the most remarkable archaeological finds in England because of its age, size, far reaching connections, completeness, beauty, rarity and historical importance.

The estate at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk had always been known as a grim, uninviting place dotted with strange mounds. It was a place of the dead, and to a superstitious populace, it was a place to be avoided.

Then, in 1926, Mrs. Edith May Pretty took up residence in the estate. A woman deeply interested in spiritualism, she claimed to have strange dreams and visions of the place, including a vivid dream where an Anglo-Saxon funeral procession buried the body of their king inside a ship in the largest of the mounds.

In 1938, Mrs Pretty wrote to the Museum of Ipswich, which sent an archaeologist named Basil Brown out to investigate the site. Upon arriving, Mr. Brown decided to begin excavations on several of the smaller mounds, even though most had obviously been targetted by tomb robbers. Although these excavations turned up a few interesting artifacts, they were on the whole a disappointment. It wasn't until the next year that Brown started work on the largest mound. Almost immediately he realized he was onto something important.

Acting carefully, Brown uncovered an Anglo-Saxon ship burial (only the second ever discovered). Although most of the ship had rotted away, it had left its impression in the earth along with all of the metal nails. Also discovered were a sword, spears, silver cutlery, and an number of buckles and clasps of precious metal. However, the most famous find was of a full, ornate Anglo-Saxon helmet, complete with a full face mask - a completely unique discovery.

There are many barrows, or burial mounds, at the site and Sutton Hoo most commonly refers specifically to the ship burial at Mound 1, although it could also refer to all the burial mounds. The site is made up of twenty barrows, most of which are still unexplored by modern methods. In addition, twenty-seven entirely different burials have been found outside the mounds. The circular layout of twelve of these around mound 1 strengthens the theory that they were perhaps sacrificial burials made at the same time as the ship-burial. Other mounds at the site include Mound 2 where a cremated man and horse were found; and Mound 3 where another ship burial was found, although not nearly as large as Mound 1 and had been robbed, probably in the ...