Sutton Hoo and the Anglo-Saxons

Archaeologist Basil Brown viewed the excavated trench in the burial mound with disappointment; the tumulus had clearly been the target of graverobbers. As it was no longer worth his continued interest, Brown instead decided to turn his attention to the many smaller mounds in its vicinity. Yet, there was something about the larger tumulus which continued to beckon to him.

It wasn’t until the next year when Brown was able to return to the large tumulus, this time with a renewed determination to excavate it deeper than the robbers had attempted.

The year was 1939, in Sutton, England, and a discovery was about to be made which would challenge the moniker of the “Dark Ages” and the way that people all around the world viewed the Anglo-Saxons.

What was found at Sutton Hoo?

As Brown gently brushed back dirt, little by little, rows of rivets slowly emerged to eventually reveal the outline of a twenty-seven-metre ship.

He had just unearthed some of the greatest treasures ever to have been discovered on UK soil; the ship contained a burial chamber packed with feasting vessels, silverware from Byzantium, ornate war gear, and gold and silver accessories.

Brown was shocked – clearly, Sutton Hoo wasn’t a standard burial mound. Instead, it was a spectacular memorial for an obviously important person and an exemplary specimen from a period that had long passed. But who was regarded enough to deserve such a burial? And what kind of insight into the Anglo Saxons can Sutton Hoo give us?

Who was buried at Sutton Hoo?

Whoever was buried at Sutton Hoo was undeniably important; the Anglo-Saxon period wasn’t overly familiar with ship burials, therefore, it stands to reason that whoever was buried there was deemed influential by his society – potentially an Anglo-Saxon king.

What’s more, dragging the boat uphill from the River Deben and positioning it so that it faced west would have required notable manpower, not to mention the amount of effort needed to dig the trench.

Furthermore, the chamber was equipped with all the riches from around the world that anyone could possibly need for the afterlife, such as garnets from Sri Lanka, expensive textiles, and feasting equipment made from silver and gold – evidence that they were undeniably wealthy and connected with the wider world.

There was even a purse that contained enough gold pieces to pay all the oarsmen to carry the person for whom the chamber was intended over to the afterlife. Unfortunately, more than just the wood of the ship rotted away with time, and there is no body left to help answer the question of who Sutton Hoo was intended for.

What does it tell us about the Anglo-Saxon period?

The Anglo-Saxon era was a time before England even existed, so it’s often misunderstood due to a lack of information. In fact, aside from some scatterings of manuscripts, coins, and the odd church, there was not much to tell us about Anglo-Saxon life in comparison to subsequent periods.

Historians referred to the Anglo-Saxon era as “The Dark Ages” as it was seen as a period of “intellectual darkness” before the Renaissance. However, with its breath-taking artistry, international calling cards of wealth, and regard for its dead, Sutton Hoo has done a lot to challenge this misconception.

The one relic found in the burial chamber that has come to define the Anglo-Saxon era is the military helmet that publishers perpetually use to illustrate their magazine covers and thus has reached iconic status.

Although it did carve out the idea of Anglo-Saxon people as warriors in the public mind (albeit more noble ones than previously thought), the rest of the contents of Sutton Hoo such as the remarkable artistry, goods from all around the world, and piles of luxurious jewellery textiles, demonstrate that the Anglo Saxons weren’t as intellectually or culturally bereft as many believed them to be. Instead, they clearly had international connections, influence and wealth, and complex belief systems.

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