The Excavation at Sutton Hoo
Burial Mound of Raedwald, Bretwalda
The burial ship uncovered in the mound at Sutton Hoo is the greatest single find in Anglo-Saxon archaeology.
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.
As word of these treasures came to light a controversy erupted over who had ownership over these items. Were they the property of the country? Of the museum? Or of Mrs. Pretty? Inquests were held, and Mr. Brown, among others, was forced to testify.
In the end, the courts ruled that since the treasures were buried with no intent by the original owners to ever recover them, they were the property of the owner of the land.
The treasures discovered at Sutton Hoo represented an immense, and in some cases, priceless discovery. Mrs. Pretty decided to donate the treasures to the country. The finds of Sutton Hoo now reside in the British Museum, where they are on permanent display.
A lot of research had gone into discovering the identity of the man buried at Sutton Hoo. There is now some agreement among historians, that it was probably King Raedwald of East Anglia. Raedwald ruled East Anglia in the early years of the seventh century, the same time that St. Agustine was leading his mission to Christianize Britain. Raedwald was one of his early converts and aided in his mission. In 616 AD, Raedwald battled and defeated King Aethelfrith of Northumbria. With this victory, Raedwald claimed the title of Bretwalda “Britain Wielder” meaning that he was acknowledged as the king over all the other kings in Britain.
No one can say for sure that it is Raedwald whose body lay in the great burial mound at Sutton Hoo, but certainly this discovery has taught us more about the look and the customs of the early Anglo-Saxons than any other find in history.
