Sutton Hoo Ship Burial
The ship burial found under a mound at the burial site in Sutton Hoo, is along with the poem
Beowulf, probably the greatest surviving examples of Anglo-Saxon culture in England. The
whole Sutton Hoo cemetery covered a time span of many generations, from Heathen times to
Christian times. But it's the ship burial found in mound (1) that really catches peoples attention
and imagination Though not the only ship 'burial' in England, it certainly is the richest, and not
just in England, but also the whole of Europe. Although some Christian artefacts were found in
the ship burial, there's no doubt that the burial itself was a Heathen one. Ship burials and the
inclusion of personal items, like jewelery and weapons in graves, was very much a Heathen
custom. Some of the items found in mound (1), along with the ship burial are as follows:
iron standard, shield, sceptre, hanging bowl, 3 angons, 7 spears, lyre, helmet, gaming
pieces, 2 silver spoons, 10 silver bowls, bell, purse, shoulder clasps, gold buckle, coins in
purse, sword, cloaks, drinking horns, leather bag, 4 knives, bottles, combs, silver ladle,
otter-fur cap, pillow, shoes, horn cup, axe hammer, mail coat, wooden bowl, cauldrons,
bucket, iron lamp, chain...and much more.
The grave goods would have been the personal possessions or weapons of the the person 'buried'
with the ship to use in the afterlife. It's still not known for sure who the burial was for, or if he
was actually buried along with the ship. The reason for this is because no actual body or remains
were found, which could suggest that the burial was a 'symbolic' one, maybe the intended was
lost at sea or in battle. But some have suggested that because the remains of a coffin were found,
then a body was more than likely interred with the ship. Sadly due to the high acidic nature of the
soil where the grave was dug, the body may have simply dissolved over the period of the 1400
years that he was buried before his discovery. The best candidate to have been buried in the ship
is that of the East Anglian King, Redwald. Redwald was described to us by the Anglo-Saxon
scholar Bede as a man who was partially converted to Christianity at the Kentish court of King
Ethelbert, but on his return to East Anglia he is said to have been led astray by his wife and
others back into Heathenism. But it seems that Redwald intended to honour both Heathen and
Christian gods, for in his Heathen temple he erected a Christian alter alongside his Heathen one.
There is no doubt at all that the ship burial was for a member of a royal family. Redwald was the
king of the East Angles during the early to middle seventh century, and experts believe that the
ship burial itself dates to no later than at least 650 c.e. And as mentioned earlier, although the
burial was Heathen, Christian artefacts were also found inside the grave, suggesting a Heathen
who was also partialy influenced by Christianity, again pointing to King Redwald. The artefacts
found in the ship burial suggest a very close cultural and religious connection with the people of
Sweden, but rather than being the same people it's more than likely that they just shared in the
same culture. Ship burials have also been found in Sweden that date to roughly the same period
in time. The connections between East Anglia and Sweden is seen also in the art work. On the
Sutton Hoo helmet a design is visible showing two men dancing whilst holding spears and
swords, and very, very similar designs have been found in Swedish soil, giving further examples
of the close relations between Dark Age Sweden and East Anglia.
The ship itself was probably dragged from the river Deben far inland to it's place of burial. It's
not known how this was achieved, but the use of rollers, probably logs, is the most likely and
sensible solution. Guesses have been made that the ship could hold between 20 and 40 oarsmen,
some have pointed to the fact that 37 coins were found in the dead kings purse, which may have
been payment to 37 'mythical oarsmen' to row him to the after life, which in turn may suggest
that the ship could hold 37 real oarsmen. The ship burial has also been linked to the Old English
epic poem Beowulf. In this poem we read about another ship burial, this time at sea, which is
extremely similar to the Sutton Hoo one in it's description and grave goods, but whether they are
connected isn't sure. The discovery of the Sutton Hoo ship burial has given many an insight into
the culture and society of the early Anglo-Saxons, and has gone a long way to portraying them as
a highly cultured and civilised people, rather than the usual stereotype of blood thirsty brutal
barbarians, a fate that has also befallen the later Vikings.