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Edith Pretty & the Sutton Hoo burial mounds:

During the early 1930's Edith Pretty a landowner in Suffolk reported that she had seen ghostlike figures of Saxon warriors dancing on mounds near her home. She was so taken aback by her supernatural encounter (which she believed to be an ‘omen’ or ‘sign’) she decided to sponsor a thorough archaeological investigation of the area.

In May 1939 Basil Brown the leading archaeologist from Ipswich Corporation Museum and his team were authorised to carry out the work on mound one.

What followed next as a result of these excavations was the discovery of the Sutton Hoo ship burial containing many precious items of outstanding beauty and craftsmanship. This collection of priceless Anglo-Saxon artefacts has become Britain’s favourite national treasure.

Due to the acidic soil content all that remained of the (27 metres) 88ft long wooden ship and burial chamber (tomb), were the stains or outline/imprint, and rusting rivets left behind in the sandy soil. This was definitely a Royal burial, although the grave occupants true identity is unknown; some suggest it is King Raedwald who died in 625 AD, other possible Kings identities put forward include Anna, Eorpwald, Sigebert, and Ecric.

Further investigations of the site uncovered a grave of a wealthy Anglo-Saxon warrior buried with his horse.

Sutton Hoo (con't)

This amazing story of how the world famous Sutton Hoo ship-burial tomb complete with it’s priceless treasures came to be left intact and therefore relatively undisturbed by the 17^th century robbers/looters is an incredible twist of fate, as this grave yielded the nations finest favourite treasures - this important discovery unlocked the secrets of our ancient heritage by providing us with an insight into our ancestors and burial customs of those inhabitants who lived in the region though long since passed.

The artefacts recovered from Sutton Hoo were valuable clues that revealed a noble society - enveloped in tradition and culture, and without them the written accounts from the Anglo-Saxon monk-scholars such as the Venerable Bede, and the Beowulf verse (the A.S. epic poem) would have be likened to Han’s Christian Anderson novels, belonging with the rest of the fairy stories.

The original length of the largest boat-burial mound at Sutton Hoo was significantly reduced as a result of extensive ploughing over the centuries, and reduced even further when a medieval trackway cut through the site. Archaeological evidence revealed that the 17^th century robbers had actually tunnelled into the mound on several occasions into what they believed was the centre of the mound, though amazingly enough – they had missed the tomb altogether due to the rather (but fortunately for us and history) dramatic alteration in both the size and shape of the mound.

Another interesting aspect came to light regarding the Sutton Hoo ship burial - being that the only other known boat burials of this kind were found at Upsaala, Sweden and they too date from around the same period of the Sutton Hoo ship burials.

The Scandinavian Vikings were a mix of Swede’s Danes, and Norwegians, or Norsemen, and all were Germanic in their origins - as were the Saxons Angles and Jutes. This information seems to suggest that Raedwald King of the Angles tribe and the house of the Royal Wuffings (his ancestral family), roots lie in Sweden, and the Anglican Wuffings still had ties to their former motherland, and were descendants from an ancient Swedish Royal family. Raedwald’s royal line remembered their roots and followed the customs and traditions of their ancestors.

The Old English poem Beowulf, mentions the last survivor of his people, words are said at the grave laden with treasure. These precious objects the poem refers to are mirrored in the findings from the Sutton Hoo ship burial excavations.

Lay of the Last Survivor: Taken from the Anglo-Saxon poem: Beowulf

Hold thou now, O Earth – now that heroes cannot –

the wealth of earls! Behold, formerly from thee

valiant men took it. With a sweeping slaughter

battle-death bore off each of the men,

my own people, they who put off this life:

they had seen joys in the hall.

I have none to wield the sword,

and none to polish the vessel mounted with gold,

the precious drinking-cup.

Elsewhere away the warriors passed.

From the sturdy helm inwrought with gold

shall the beaten plates fall. The polishers slumber,

who should make shine the battle-masks.

So too the corselet decays with the warrior –

the same which bore in the battle

the bite of iron edge, mid the cracking of shields.

After the war-lord, the mailcoat

cannot journey afield at the side of heroes.

There is no joy of the harp,

delight of the glee-bough, nor does the good hawk

circle around the hall, and the swift steed

stamps no more in the court. Many living kin

has baleful death sent forth away.

NB Lines from Beowulf, 2, 247 – 66.

Translation by S.J. Plunkett.

FOOTNOTE:

What is remarkable is the fact that this epic poem (Beowulf) seems to have an awful lot of credibility attached to it – as the grave of a powerful 6^th cent AD Anglo-Saxon war-lord filled with treasures and weapons & armour including various other items such as those described in the above verses, was revealed during the opening and subsequent excavations of the ship/tomb burial mound no 1 at Sutton Hoo, Woodbridge, Suffolk.

Fig 1: Anglo-Saxon warriors

King Raedwald’s Ancestors: Rendlesham & The Sutton Hoo burial grounds:

The “Bromeswell Bucket” was found in 1986 several hundred metres from the original site of the Sutton Hoo royal burial ground of the Wuffings (Kings of East Anglia). The bronze bucket from Byzantium Antioch (possibly 6^th cent AD) was engraved with a (poor) Greek inscription that read: “Use this in good health, Master count, for many happy years”. Below this a frieze depicting detailed images of hunters with their prey - had been meticulously punched and hammered into the metal. Several similar buckets resembling this one have been recovered from various sites throughout this country as well as Europe.

We know that the Germanic settlers, had established excellent trading links with the continent. Historians now believe that most of Raedwald’s grave goods were actually imported, including the Ceremonial helmet – and almost certainly the chain-mail.

In fact it is widely believed that King Raedwald’s wealth was acquired through his excellent business sense and trade.

So how did this bucket end up in a field in Suffolk? Well quite possibly the Bromeswell bucket was a gift/reward to a descendant of the Wuffing Lords or over-kings. The inscription seems to suggest that the bucket had once belonged to a Count, or nobleman, clearly someone of high rank within society, maybe an officer serving in Byzantine, probably a mercenary. Or alternatively it could have been re-used by the Anglo-Saxons following the Romans hurried departure from Britain.

Anglo-Saxon swords.

The high quality craftsmanship that was used in order to produce the Anglo-Saxon swords - means that these people possessed an amazing knowledge of metalworking skills. These items were incredibly beautiful with amazingly intricate patterns formed on the blades. The Sutton Hoo blade's patterned-effect was created when 18 individual laminated metal rods were skilfully twisted together, then forged. Anglo-Saxon swords were the deadliest of weapons around at the time, they are likened to the Samurai swords, although the Saxons were producing these outstanding objects some 600 years before the Japanese.

One thousand consecutive years of English history: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.

The four best known surviving annals or manuscripts were commissioned by King Alfred in the 9^th century. The chronicles were written by monks using vernacular rather than Latin text, and that in itself is truly remarkable. Centuries later the vernacular text was translated in to Old English – following this; it began to develop into the English that we know and use today.

Hwaet! (Attention)

In modern Spain, France and Italy, Romance languages are spoken, derived from Latin as you might expect in the Heartlands of the Empire, but English is different. It is not based on Latin, or the old Iron Age ‘Celtic’ languages but instead on a barbarian Germanic language, despite our millennia of prehistory and four hundred years as a Roman province.

A excerpt from the book “Seven Ages Of Britain” by Justin Pollard

A few Anglo-Saxon words that are similar or remain the same in today's English Language; Part One:

Æfter = After

Befeallen = Befall

Betwuh = Between

Eadweard cyning = Edward king

Eall = All

Fennas = Fens

Golde = Gold

Hergade = Harried

He - spelt the same

Hearda = Hard

Helm - Spelt the same

His - spelt the same

Hit = It

Iren = Iron

Land - spelt the same

Manna = Man

Mehte = Might

Nama = Named

Næfre = Never

Norð = North

Ofer = Over

Ond = And

Sceal = Shall

Sceoldon = Should

Wæs = Was

Wusan = Ouse (River)

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