5 Sites That Tell the Story of Early Anglo-Saxon England

Here, we look at Sutton Hoo and other amazing sites that tell us so much about the culture, beliefs and society of Anglo-Saxon England.

Who were the Anglo-Saxons?

Before we look at the sites, who were the people we are talking about?

We use the term ‘Anglo-Saxons’ to describe a mix of people from northern Germany and Denmark who came to Britain from the mid-fifth century AD after the collapse of Roman rule. They may have absorbed parts of the existing Romano-British population.

They emerged as the main group in England till the Norman Conquest in 1066, speaking a language known to us as ‘Old English’. This era is also sometimes called the ‘Early Medieval’ period so as to encompass groups that had their own separate identities, such as the Cornish or Cumbrians and later on ‘Viking’ settlers.

To begin with, the Anglo-Saxons were pagans, later converting to Christianity.

In the early centuries, many tribal groups and small kingdoms coalesced around leading families or parts of the former province.

A warning to the curious?

The Old English epic poem ‘Beowulf’ depicts a rich elite culture. But until the discoveries made at Sutton Hoo in the 1930s, there had been little hard evidence to suggest that this cultural richness had been anything but legend.

There had been older antiquarian reports, such as a lost crown found in Tudor times at Rendlesham in Suffolk. That story had been the inspiration for MR James’ 1925 ghost story ‘A Warning to the Curious’, where a ghostly guardian of burial mounds haunts a hobby archaeologist who has taken a Saxon crown.

Generally, however, the previous impression of the early Anglo-Saxons was that they were barbaric and simple compared to the great Roman empire that had crumbled away.

It would be in the former kingdom of East Anglia that the most stunning archaeological discovery at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk opened a new chapter in understanding the era.

1. Sutton Hoo: the real-life story behind Netflix’s ‘The Dig’

It’s 1937, and Britain is troubled by rumours of a coming war. But Suffolk landowner Edith Pretty is about to make a decision that will forever change how we think of the people that we call ‘the Anglo-Saxons’ and shed a blazing light on what was once thought of as ‘the Dark Ages’.

After the loss of her husband, withdrawn from society, she has spent more time on her estate at Sutton Hoo. Edith seeks solace in spiritualism and becomes fascinated by a group of 18 ancient mounds on her land. Her experiences of travelling in Egypt and her father’s interest in archaeology tell her these mounds should be explored by a skilled excavator.

Edith contacts Guy Maynard, curator of Ipswich Museum, who suggests local self-taught archaeologist Basil Brown, who already carries out archaeological work on behalf of the museum, mostly in Suffolk.

The remarkable Brown, who left formal school aged 12 to work on his father’s farm, begins work at Sutton Hoo in the summer of 1938, opening up three mounds using techniques he had honed on a previous excavation.

He and a team of Edith’s labourers find that some mounds have been robbed long ago, but they do recover Anglo-Saxon finds, including tantalising evidence of part of a buried ship, like that found at Snape in Suffolk and only sketchily recorded back in 1862.

On the eve of war in 1939, Brown returns and opens what would become known as Mound 1, the biggest of the group. He and two workers from the estate expose the impression of a 27-metre-long ship marked in the sandy soil and identify what may be a burial chamber.

Realising this was a find of huge importance, Brown confers with Maynard. Eventually, a team of university-based archaeologists, including women like Peggy Piggott, are brought in, and the British Museum is alerted.

The archaeologists open the chamber and gradually reveal a sensational array of finds, including the now-iconic helmet with its face mask, a ceremonial ‘whetstone’ (with the allusion to sharpening warrior’s swords) or ‘sceptre’ and purse lid. There are also objects from as far away as the eastern Mediterranean.

No longer ‘Dark Ages’

The discoveries at Sutton Hoo overturned the notion of ‘primitive’ Saxons. There was a collection of eclectic and beautiful objects from a society with a complex artistic culture and, at least at the elite level, wide international connections. The objects were brought together in an elaborate burial requiring effort and organisation to commemorate a powerful person.

Initially, no body was found, but a retrospective analysis of the soil found phosphate traces that suggest a body had decayed in the acidic soil.

Who that person was is still open to interpretation, but most experts suggest that it was Raedwald (or Redwald), a King of East Anglia with a claim to be a ‘Bretwalda’ or ‘wide ruler’ with influence over other kingdoms, who died between around 616 and 627 AD.

Raedwald also had a foot in both the Pagan and Christian camps, which may explain the mix of symbolism in the objects from Mound 1.

Later, other archaeologists would work on the site, including Rupert Bruce-Mitford (in the 1960s and 1970s) and Martin Carver (between 1982 and 2001).

For example, our predecessor organisation supported the latter’s research campaigns by applying the then-new geophysical survey techniques to the site. We also continue to work with the National Trust, which owns the site legally protected by scheduling, to manage changes, like new installations for visitors needing Scheduled Monument Consent.

We can now see Sutton Hoo as evidence of a change in Anglo-Saxon society. During the 6th century, it moved from a less hierarchical ‘flatter’ society to one dominated by elites commemorated in style, with spectacularly elaborate ‘princely’ burials in the seventh century, before Christianity became more widespread later that century.

The site continues to fascinate, and in 2022, the new Time Team have been working with the National Trust on geophysics and photogrammetry surveys at Sutton Hoo, as well as following a reconstruction of the Sutton Hoo Ship. The results will be shared in Spring 2022 via the Time Team YouTube Channel.

In 2022, the public can also book to see highlights of combined Anglo-Saxon treasures at the site (see the Staffordshire Hoard below).

But Sutton Hoo has not been the only eye-opener in our journey of discovery.

2. A royal centre at Rendlesham

Recent surveys have revealed more details about the Royal site at nearby Rendlesham. This could have been a living centre for those buried at Sutton Hoo. Some describe this as a ‘palace’ but don’t think of fairy-tale turrets and sweeping staircases. In this period, imagine a big timber hall, open to the roof, with associated smaller timber buildings.

We funded some of the research, including testing field-walking methods there. It may have become less important in the mid-Saxon period as the river-port town of Ipswich developed, but that’s another story.

The area is now the subject of a community project, Rendlesham Revealed, which aims to involve local people in learning more about the Anglo-Saxon past of the Deben Valley.

3. The Staffordshire Hoard

The Staffordshire Hoard, first discovered in 2009, has exponentially increased our understanding of Anglo-Saxon metalwork, weaponry and our appreciation of the artistry and skill of the craftspeople that produced it. Some of the work is so fine it is difficult for a layperson to see how it could have been achieved without modern magnifiers!

It probably dates from the seventh century AD and comprises around 1,500 items mostly of rich warriors’ equipment and adornment, especially sword fittings. We funded their conservation and specialist research.

There are different theories as to why the artefacts were deliberately buried: in a time where there were no banks, it may have been a way of hiding wealth for safekeeping away from thieves or enemies; part of a craftsman’s or armourer’s stock, perhaps buried loot from a campaign or raid or even an offering to the Gods.

You can now read about the hoard in an accessible paperback book by Chris Fern and Jenni Butterworth, entitled ‘Warrior Treasure’ published in 2022 by Historic England through Liverpool University Press.

From 19 May to 30 October 2022, you can book to see a selection of the finds from the Staffordshire Hoard alongside some of the equally iconic artefacts from the ship burial onsite at Sutton Hoo in a temporary exhibition, ‘Swords of Kingdoms’, specially curated for the National Trust by expert Chris Fern.

4. The Prittlewell Prince

In 2003, archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology Service working on a small area of land in Essex as part of a road improvement scheme revealed an elite Anglo-Saxon burial chamber. It is thought to be the earliest ‘princely’ Anglo-Saxon burial, dating to around 580-605 AD.

As with Sutton Hoo, the amazing finds took time to conserve and analyse. For the Prittlewell burial artefacts, this process, lasting until 2019, was partly funded by us. Among the finds were parts of a musical instrument called a lyre and gold foil crosses, which may have been placed over the eyes of the dead person.

The latter may mean the person was an early convert to Christianity despite the pagan overtones of a burial with a range of grave goods.

5. Great Ryburgh Cemetery, Norfolk

This site, discovered in 2016 during work to construct a lake, is later than the ones we’ve looked at before and brings us to a time from the later 7th to 9th century when the Anglo-Saxons adopted Christian beliefs more widely.

All the graves were roughly aligned east-west (facing Jerusalem), and in contrast to the burials we’ve looked at so far in this blog, there were no grave goods to accompany the person into the afterlife or mark their status.

The remarkable thing about this site is that due to a fluke of local geology, 81 of the graves still contained wooden ‘dug-out’ log coffins, which otherwise would normally have rotted away. These were not limited to the grave of a very important individual. There were also six plank-lined graves.

Traces of a wooden building may represent the remains of a chapel or church. This fascinating site was featured in an episode of the TV documentary series ‘Digging for Britain’.

Because of the significance of these incredibly rare survivals, we provided funds for excavation and research work to continue.

It is not yet certain if the community the cemetery served was built on trade along the River Wensum or perhaps a monastic settlement.

Our role in archaeology

We help to protect the most important of England’s archaeological monuments, mostly through ‘scheduling’. You can see information about these alongside other aspects of protected heritage in the National Heritage List for England.

As you will have seen from this article, we fund investigation or conservation work in exceptional circumstances to understand nationally important archaeological discoveries.

Our own ‘flying archaeologists’ also identify thousands of potential new sites each year from the air. At the same time, our archaeological specialists carry out surveys and excavations that are not addressed through the normal planning processes.

We also have a team of scientists who conserve finds or advise on dating archaeological sites and artefacts.

Find out more about our role in Archaeology.

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Further reading:

• A Brief History of Burial
• What Archaeology Can Tell Us About the History of Migration in England
• A Brief Introduction to Cropmarks

Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians