Burial place of Kings
Aug 31, 2016 15:11:16 GMT
Post by mossie on Aug 31, 2016 15:11:16 GMT
Some time ago I showed this
s345.photobucket.com/user/navrad/media/P1000283-1.jpg.html
and for a long time I have been meaning to visit this archeological site which had first been seriously excavated in 1939. Here they found what turned out to be the burial place of an Anglo-Saxon king of this region, Raedwald.
The discovery was due to a Mrs Pretty who owned this isolated house and the surrounding land
which contained a field full of ancient tumuli, or burial mounds of ancient people, which dated from the 6th or 7th century AD.
Doesn't look much but they chose a large one although some old farmer had removed one end. This was very lucky because the people who had dug for treasure in the past knew from previous experience that it would be in the centre, and a rough depth. This meant that in this particular grave they dug in the wrong place and missed.
What was found was remarkable, the remains of an Anglo Saxon ship burial with all the grave goods, this helmet being the main prize
There were many gold and precious metal pieces, plus some exquisite enamel work which modern craftsmen cannot properly replicate.
And the remains of a finely made sword in is wooden scabbard, looks pretty tatty now, but would have been superb when new, together with much else
The remains of this bronze bucket
In the exhibition hall there is a very detailed display which is well worth a visit if you find yourself in this historic part of the world
It explains the whole setup, even showing how we were plagued by illegal immigrants even then
They were able to make copies of the clothing and jewellery etc, how do you fancy opening your door to this character.
There is a mock up of the burial itself, showing how stuff was arranged
The site overlooks the River Deben which is now tidal up to Woodbridge, just visible here, and the route these people would have taken from their German or Scandinavian homeland
The area is poor heathland and so has been little disturbed by agriculture which has aided preservation
Wikipedia can give the full story if you are interested en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutton_Hoo
s345.photobucket.com/user/navrad/media/P1000283-1.jpg.html
and for a long time I have been meaning to visit this archeological site which had first been seriously excavated in 1939. Here they found what turned out to be the burial place of an Anglo-Saxon king of this region, Raedwald.
The discovery was due to a Mrs Pretty who owned this isolated house and the surrounding land
which contained a field full of ancient tumuli, or burial mounds of ancient people, which dated from the 6th or 7th century AD.
Doesn't look much but they chose a large one although some old farmer had removed one end. This was very lucky because the people who had dug for treasure in the past knew from previous experience that it would be in the centre, and a rough depth. This meant that in this particular grave they dug in the wrong place and missed.
What was found was remarkable, the remains of an Anglo Saxon ship burial with all the grave goods, this helmet being the main prize
There were many gold and precious metal pieces, plus some exquisite enamel work which modern craftsmen cannot properly replicate.
And the remains of a finely made sword in is wooden scabbard, looks pretty tatty now, but would have been superb when new, together with much else
The remains of this bronze bucket
In the exhibition hall there is a very detailed display which is well worth a visit if you find yourself in this historic part of the world
It explains the whole setup, even showing how we were plagued by illegal immigrants even then
They were able to make copies of the clothing and jewellery etc, how do you fancy opening your door to this character.
There is a mock up of the burial itself, showing how stuff was arranged
The site overlooks the River Deben which is now tidal up to Woodbridge, just visible here, and the route these people would have taken from their German or Scandinavian homeland
The area is poor heathland and so has been little disturbed by agriculture which has aided preservation
Wikipedia can give the full story if you are interested en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutton_Hoo