Sutton Hoo

Anglo-Saxon Shoulder Clasp from Sutton Hoo Burial, 625-630 Anglo-Saxon Sword Belt End Ornament from Sutton Hoo Burial, 625-630 Sutton Hoo is the site of two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when an undisturbed ship burial containing a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artifacts was discovered. The site is important in establishing the history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia as well as illuminating the Anglo-Saxons during a period which lacks historical documentation.

The site was first excavated by Basil Brown, a self-taught archaeologist, under the auspices of the landowner Edith Pretty, but when its importance became apparent, national scholars took over. The artefacts the archaeologists 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 Eastern Roman Empire. The ship burial has prompted comparisons with the world of Beowulf. The Old English poem is partly set in Götaland in southern Sweden, which has archaeological parallels to some of the Sutton Hoo finds. Scholars believe Rædwald, king of the East Angles, is the most likely person to have been buried in the ship.