Sutton Hoo

Sutton Hoo near Woodbridge, in Suffolk, England, is the site of two early medieval cemeteries that date from the 6th to 7th centuries. Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1939. One cemetery had an undisturbed ship burial with a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artefacts; most of these objects are now held by the British Museum. Scholars believe Rædwald of East Anglia the most likely person to be buried in the ship. The site is important in understanding the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia and the early Anglo-Saxon period, as it illuminates a period that lacks historical documentation.

The site was at first excavated under the auspices of the landowner, but when its significance became apparent, national experts took over. During the 1960s and 1980s, the wider area was explored by archaeologists and many other individual burials were revealed. The spectacular artefacts that emerged from the ship burial are unique in England for their magnificence, comprised what is considered the greatest treasure ever discovered in the UK. Those found in the burial chamber include a suite of metalwork dress fittings in gold and gems, a ceremonial helmet, a shield and sword, a lyre, and silver plate from the Byzantine Empire.

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