Sutton Hoo

Our View

A short distance from the town of Woodbridge, at Sutton Hoo, is the Anglo-Saxon royal burial site of King Raedwald, where a vast treasure was discovered in a huge ship grave. Sutton Hoo is arguably one of the most vital archaeological sites in Britain, looked on by many as the first chapter of English history. Lying on a low spur of land above the River Deben, several large mounds were excavated in 1939 and one revealed a warrior’s helmet and shield and a collection of gold ornaments in the remains of an 89 foot ship. The significance of this important discovery is incalculable. When, in the early 5th century, the Romans withdrew from Britain, it left the way open for people from Denmark, Germany and the lower Rhine to settle here, displacing and even enslaving the remnant Celtic and Roman people. These early settlers were the Anglo-Saxons, and their language formed the basis of the modern English spoken today. Two hundred years later, new kingdoms were formed: Suffolk and Norfolk becoming the Kingdom of the East Angles, and thereby setting the foundations of England as a country. Anglo-Saxon custom decreed that important people were buried beneath mounds, often along with precious goods as a sign of their wealth and importance. The burial of an entire ship is unique to East Anglia and Scandinavia, and the burial mound at Sutton Hoo was a prominent and fitting memorial to a powerful leader. The National Trust exhibition hall at Sutton Hoo houses a full-sized reconstruction of the buried chamber and relates the history of how its treasures lay undisturbed for over 1,300 years. The burial mounds form part of a much larger estate, across which there are lovely walks with estuary views, across heathland and along woodland trails.