stillvu.blogg.se - Helm of raedwald explained

Basil Brown was not the first person to explore the mounds.Some of the objects found in the Sutton Hoo ship burial came from all over the world, indicating that the Anglo-saxons travelled to, received visitors from, and traded with many countries.It took many years of painstaking work to restore the helmet, and it is now one of the most famous pieces from the dig. Unfortunately, it had broken and was in over 100 pieces when found. One of the most spectacular finds from the Sutton Hoo excavation was an ornate iron helmet.At the onset of World War 2 in September 1939, the objects from Sutton Hoo were stored safely in a disused London underground tunnel.Edith Pretty donated all 263 objects from the excavation to the British Museum, where you can still see them today.However, the quality and craftsmanship of the objects found show that they were a highly-skilled, well-travelled and cultured society. Prior to the excavation, the Anglo-saxon period was viewed as ‘a dark age’ and the people of the time unsophisticated. The items uncovered at Sutton Hoo not only tell us about the person they were buried with, but about the Anglo-Saxons as a people. A replica of the iron helmet found at the Sutton Hoo site. However, it is unlikely that we will ever know for certain. Many experts today have come to the conclusion that the person buried within the ship was King Raedwald, the ruler of East Anglia from c.599 until his death c.624 CE. The coins found can be dated c.613 CE onwards, suggesting the person died not before this approximate date.

The standard and sceptre found hint that he was important and powerful.

The gold objects and jewellery suggest that this man was very wealthy.

The armour and weapons tell us that the person was a man.

We can gain many clues from the items that were found within the hut, or burial chamber: But without a body, how can we tell who was buried there? However, the widely held belief now is that, due to the acidic soil in the area, the bones had dissolved over time. However, there was no sign of a body.Īt first, it was thought that the ship and coffin were a cenotaph (an empty tomb made in honour of a person whose remains are elsewhere). Inside, they found a coffin and many other items, including armour, weapons, ornaments, jewellery, silver and gold tableware, musical instruments and gold coins! Altogether, 263 objects were unearthed. As they dug further, they discovered that a hut had been built in the middle of the ship. Now recognised as a significant find, other archaeologists, including Charles Phillips, joined the excavation.

It was 27 metres long! The rows of holes in the soil are made by the iron rivets that would have held the pieces of wood together. The wood had long since rotted away, but a clear impression of its shape was still left in the soil. There, he found one of the most important discoveries of the 20th century - a huge wooden ship had once been buried under the earth. At Edith’s request, Basil moved onto one of the larger mounds. He began with one of the smaller mounds, but didn’t find much of interest. One of the larger mounds at the Sutton Hoo site She asked a local archaeologist, Basil Brown, to excavate some of them to see if there was anything of interest buried within. Not long before the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939, a woman called Edith Pretty became intrigued by several large mounds, or small hills, on her land in Suffolk. Much of what we now know about the Anglo-Saxons comes from one major discovery at Sutton Hoo.