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Anglo Saxon Ship Burial
Sutton Hoo 

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Sutton Hoo

Anglo Saxon Ship Burial

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2025

Helmet Iron and tinned copper alloy helmet, consisting of many pieces of iron, now built into a reconstruction, forming cap, cheek-pieces, mask and neck-guard. Covered with panels of tinned copper alloy sheeting. The copper alloy sheets are stamped with various patterns including animal interlace, and warrior motifs depicted in two panels. Three different dies were used for the figural scenes and two for the interlace. The warrior motifs are known as the "Dancing Warrior" and "Fallen Warrior". A crest runs over the cap of the helmet and leads down the face in a straight line, forming the nose, which is gilt copper alloy. The crest itself is of iron and has gilt animal terminals at the forehead and back of the head, the animals having cloisonné garnet eyes. The iron crest and copper alloy eyebrows are inlaid with silver wire; the eyebrows have gilt zoomorphic terminals consisting of boar heads, and strips of garnet cloisonné work immediately above the eye sockets. The nose and mouth-piece are cast as one; they are made of parcel-gilt and partly tinned copper alloy, with engraved detail and silver inlay.

Belt Buckle This gold belt buckle is a masterpiece of early medieval craftsmanship, made using over 400g of gold with an intricate decoration of intertwining creatures inlaid with niello (a black metal alloy). This type of animal ornament was popular with many Germanic-speaking peoples at the time.

Lycurgus Cup Glass; green and red; covered with various scenes representing the death of King Lycurgus; rim mounted with silver-gilt band of leaf ornament, plus silver-gilt foot with open-work vine leaves. This magnificent glass cage cup is is decorated with scenes from the myth of Lycurgus, a king from Thrace. Lycurgus attacked Dionysos, the Greek god of wine, as well as the maenads (Dionysos' female followers) and Ambrosia the nymph. Ambrosia prayed for help to Mother Earth, who transformed her into a vine so that she could coil around the king. The cup shows Lycurgus trapped by the vine, while Dionysos, Pan, and a satyr (male follower of Dionysus) torment him for his evil behaviour. The cup was probably made in Alexandria or Rome in about 290-325 CE.

Shield Reconstruction of the Sutton Hoo shield, using original gold, garnet, copper alloy and iron fittings and modern replica fittings on a modern lime wood shield board. Original fittings used in the reconstruction are separately registered. The bird consisted of a cast bronze leg with a curved foot and a cast bronze head with a crest. The wing and bifid tail section consisted of fragments of gold foil mounted on an alderwood underlay. Unfortunately these were incorrectly reconstructed in 1945 and damaged in the process. Reproductions of these elements were constructed from photographs. Similar bird motifs are common on the shields of Scandinavian and northern Europe. The winged dragon was found in an extremely fragile condition although the decoration is well preserved. The head and body were cast seperately in bronze, the head attached to the body by a tenon joint and fixed with a single rivet. The narrow body is defined by a spiral design set with flat garnets from which three pairs of wings emerge. The wings are held flat against the body. The feet are similar to the wings but terminate in toes similar to those of the animals in the larger fields. The fields at the neck and between the third pair of wings are decorated with two and three strand interlaces; the neck section featuring cloisonne work and garnets

Chest Lidded rectangular box made of whale-bone, carved on the sides and top in relief with scenes from Roman, Jewish, Christian and Germanic tradition. The base is constructed from four sides slotted and pegged into corner uprights, the bottom plates fitted into grooves at the base of the sides. It possibly stood on four low feet. Only one decorative panel now survives in the lid, the remaining elements being almost certainly replacements.There are scars left by lost metal fittings on the exterior - handle, lock, hasps and hinges - and crude internal repairs. The five surviving decorated panels are variously accompanied by carved texts in Old English and Latin, using both conventional and encoded runes as well as Insular script, in a variety of orientations. Each side is bordered by a long descriptive text and three contain additional labels; the lid panel has only the latter, though a longer text may originally have accompanied it.

Whetstone Stone sceptre or whetstone comprising a four-sided stone bar of hard, fine-grained grey stone. Each end of the bar tapers to form a 'neck', and ultimately terminates in a carved, lobed knob, roughly onion-shaped and originally painted red. Each knob is enclosed by a cage of copper alloy ridged strips. At one end (interpreted as the bottom), the cage consists of six strips and is attached to a cup-shaped piece of copper alloy. The cage at the other end (interpreted as the top) consists of eight copper alloy strips surmounted by an iron ring, upon which is mounted a copper alloy stag. Immediately below each knob are four human masks carved in relief, one on each of the stone bar's four faces. Each mask is different; three are clearly bearded and five are either beardless or bearded with an exposed chin. The masks are approximately triangular in shape, ending in curved oval terminals. All faces of the stone are extremely smooth and show very little trace of wear.

Shoulder Clasps This clasp carries the opposite half of a hinge mechanism that links it to shoulder-clasp 1939,1010.4 (which carries the chain and pin). The clasp is curved in section and consists of a rectangular plate with rounded end. The hinge runs along the straight end. The clasp has loops for attaching it to a garment underneath. The rectangular plate contains a central panel of fifteen cloisonné cells filled alternately with millefiori glass and garnets. These are interspersed with slightly larger plain garnet cells. The central panel is bordered on each side with designs of interlacing beasts, their bodies formed of inlaid garnets and their eyes of blue glass. The rounded end contains a design of two interlinked boars, executed in garnet cloisonné. Their heads are down, and their curved backs from the rounded end of the clasp. Their hip-joints are inlaid with millefiori glass. The spaces between their legs are filled with a gold filigree design of snake-like creatures. The cells behind the boars’ back legs are lidded with gold foil. The garnet cells are underlaid with stamped gold foil.

Coins Upon the excavation of the ship burial at the Sutton Hoo in 1939, a collection of gold objects was discovered within the purse in a small area described by Rupert Bruce-Mitford as “a major concentration of gold jewellery”. These were 37 Merovingian tremisses, three flans, and two ingots. Dr. J. P. C. Kent concluded that “The Sutton Hoo deposit emerges as a more homogeneous group than might have been expected, with most of its coins having an estimated date within a thirty-year period, c. A.D. 585-625.” Overall, these many contributions generally to the dating of the coins suggest a date of burial c. 625. Although as with many elements of the Sutton Hoo Mound One burial, the dating of the coins and burial is not concrete.

Bowls and Spoons These shallow bowls were part of a set of 10. They come from the eastern Mediterranean and may have been brought to East Anglia as a gift, probably via the Frankish (French) kingdom in continental Europe. Each bowl is decorated with a cross pattern. The spoons are inscribed in Greek with two names, Saulos and possibly Paulos. It is thought that these were Christian references to the conversion of St. Paul.

Purse Lid The lid was made to cover a leather pouch containing gold coins. It hung by three hinged straps from the waist belt, and was fastened by a gold buckle. The lid had totally decayed but was probably made of whalebone—a precious material in early Anglo-Saxon England. Seven gold, garnet cloisonné and millefiori glass plaques were set into it. These are made with a combination of very large garnets and small ones, deliberately used to pick out details of the imagery. This combination could link the purse-lid and the fine shoulder clasps, which were also found in the ship burial, to the workshop of a single master-craftsman. It is possible that he made the entire suite of gold and garnet fittings discovered in Mound 1 as a single commission.

Drinking Horns At the mouth of the horn is a rim-mount consisting of four rectangular silver-gilt foil panels, decorated with a zoomorphic design comprising six interlacing animals with. Upper and lower borders of a chevron-like design. The panels are fastened to the horn with silver-gilt clips, or pilasters, featuring double human masks arranged one above the other. Above the uppermost mask is a broad fluted clip. The pilasters are placed between the rectangular panels. At the tip of the horn is a cast bird's head terminal, with curved beak. Above this are three raised rings or collars of silver-gilt, decorated with interlace and beading. Between these are two decorative panels. Six triangular vandykes splay out from the uppermost raised ring or collar, pointing towards the mouth of the horn. These vandykes are decorated with a zoomorphic design comprising two pendant animal heads above four interlacing pairs of animals.

Sword Iron pattern-welded sword blade, heavily corroded. The blade is broad and tapers slightly towards the pointed tip. Near the hilt, two circular indentations mark the position of the two scabbard bosses. Traces of the wooden sheath remain on the blade

Kings of East Anglia 500- 600 AD d. 571 Wehha Possible ruler; If he existed, Wehha ruled the East Angles as a pagan king during the 6th century, at the time the region was being established as a kingdom. Nothing of his reign is known. 571–578 (from unknown annal). Wuffa Possible ruler; By tradition Wuffa was named as the son of Wehha and the father of Tytila, but it is not known with any certainty that Wuffa was an actual historical figure. Bede regarded Wuffa as the first king of the East Angles 578 (from unknown annal). Tytila Possible ruler; son of Wuffa, he is not known to have definitely ruled as king and nothing of his life is known. He is listed in a number of genealogical lists. Acceded around 616, died before 627. Rædwald Son of Tytila; Reigned from around 616, Rædwald was the most powerful of the English kings south of the River Humber. According to Bede, he was the fourth ruler to hold imperium over other southern Anglo-Saxon kingdoms: he was referred to in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written centuries after his death, as a bretwalda (an Old English term meaning 'Britain-ruler' or 'wide-ruler') .He was the first king of the East Angles to become a Christian, converting at Æthelberht's court some time before 605, while also maintaining a pagan temple. Rædwald is the first of the Wuffingas of which more than a name is known. Died 627 or 628. Eorpwald Son of Rædwal; little is known of Eorpwald's life or of his short reign, as little documentary evidence about the East Anglian kingdom has survived. The primary source for Eorpwald is the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, written by Bede in the 8th century. Soon after becoming king, Eorpwald received Christian teaching and was baptized in 627 or 632. Soon after his conversion he was killed by Ricberht, a pagan noble, who may have succeeded him and ruled for three years. c. 627 to c. 630. Ricberht Possible ruler. murdered Eorpwald of East Anglia in about 627, shortly after Eorpwald succeeded his father Rædwald as king and had then been baptised as a Christian. Following Eorpwald's death, Ricberht may have become king, a possibility that is not mentioned by Bede or any contemporary commentator. Acceded c. 630. Sigeberht A saint and a king of East Anglia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. He was the first English king to receive a Christian baptism and education before his succession and the first to abdicate in order to enter monastic life; later slain in battle. Co-ruled with Ecgric Acceded c. 630 (ruled jointly with Sigeberht until c. 634). Ecgric Sigeberht succeeded in re-establishing Christianity throughout East Anglia, but Ecgric may have remained a pagan, as Bede praises only Sigeberht for his accomplishments, and his lack of praise for his co-ruler is significant. Ecgric ruled alone after Sigeberht retired to his monastery at Beodricesworth in around 634: it has also been suggested that he was a sub-king who only became king after Sigeberht's abdication early 640s to c. 653. Anna Nephew of Rædwald and son of Eni; Anna was praised by Bede for his devotion to Christianity and was renowned for the saintliness of his family: his son Jurmin and all his daughters – Seaxburh, Æthelthryth, Æthelburh and possibly a fourth, Wihtburh – were canonised c. 653 to 655. Æthelhere Brother of Anna. In 655, Æthelhere was one of thirty noble warlords who joined with Penda in an invasion of Northumbria, laying siege to Oswiu and the much smaller Northumbrian army. In the battle, Penda and nearly all his warlords, including Æthelhere, were killed. 655 to 663. Æthelwold Brother of Anna.Few records relating to East Anglia have survived and almost nothing is known of Æthelwold's life or reign. He succeeded his elder brother Æthelhere, after Æthelhere was killed with Penda of Mercia at the Battle of the Winwæd in about 655. During his rule he witnessed a setback in the aspirations of Mercia to dominate its neighbours, following the Battle of the Winwæd and the murder of Penda's son, Peada

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