What is the significance of the sutton hoo ship burial

In , an archeologist named Martin Carver, who liked to play golf on the site, noticed a gentle slope because his ball would not settle, and dug up an Anglo-Saxon warrior who had been buried with his horse, a golden bridle, and a meal of lamb chops to take him to the afterlife. His golden belt buckle was a mass of snakes, birds, and frogs.

Christian and pagan imagery weaved alongside each other. In , archeologists noticed that the twenty-five red garnets above the left eye of the Sutton Hoo helmet were not backed with gold foil, as they were on the right, meaning that it would not have glowed as brightly—and therefore probably invoked Odin, the god of knowledge, who sacrificed an eye to drink from the well of wisdom.

Who were these aliens, and what is our connection to them now? There were no English; there were Swedes and Danes, exploring rivers. Our inheritance is nothing like the banal nationalism of Johnson and the Brexiteers. In the mid-eighties, Seamus Heaney , who was born in Northern Ireland, was asked to make a new translation of Beowulf. He started, but soon got stuck.

The epic poem describes two outlandish funerals. Heaney eventually published his translation, in Mound No. A barrier of Scotch pines, planted in the last century, has obscured the view of the river below.

But the gully where the ship was dragged up from the shore is visible still, a dip among the trees. When I visited, piles of flint on the ground showed where archeologists have dug up human remains over the years. Some yards off, sheep gnawed on the thin grass. Despite the restoration at Sutton Hoo, the place where Basil Brown dug retains an exposed, unkempt air.

The top of the mound appeared somewhat sunken. An old rope, pinned down in a rough square, showed where the burial chamber had been. We stood around and took some pictures. Then a sudden rain came off the sea and chased us into the trees.

Brexit, for which Johnson is partly responsible, has defined the limits of British politics for the past three years, and as Prime Minister he will find it as intricate and unforgiving as his predecessor did.

By Sam Knight. The next two weeks will test how deeply a nation can immerse itself in self-delusion. When the Sutton Hoo ship burial was found, scholars recognized that the site had striking similarities to a burial depicted in the 8th-century epic poem Beowulf. In the poem, Scyld Scefing is buried in a boat surrounded by goods such as drinking horns, textiles, musical instruments, and money.

This textual reference revealed that the purpose of the grave goods was to ensure safe passage to the afterlife. The site has yet to be fully excavated, and archaeologists hope further discoveries will be unearthed. In the s, a team revealed the grave of a young warrior nicknamed the " Sutton Hoo Prince. In an adjacent grave the body of his horse had been buried, perhaps to allow them to be reunited in the afterlife.

The grave goods at Sutton Hoo were immediately recognized as one of the most important finds in British history. British courts ruled that all the treasure belonged to Edith Pretty. She refused to sell the items, and instead donated the entire collection to the British Museum so it could be enjoyed by everyone. The most important artifacts from Sutton Hoo, including the famous helmet, can be viewed in Room 41 of the British Museum in London.

The estate in Suffolk is also open to the public, and owned by the National Trust. Visitors can stroll around the burial mounds on the extensive estate and take a look in the visitor center, which has a recreation of the burial chamber with replicas of the treasures showing exactly where they were found.

BY Claire Cock-Starkey. This is a good source for those who need good photograp hs and descriptions of the individual artifacts and less focus on the actual dig. The Treasure of Sutton Hoo by Bernice Grohskopf also focuses more on treasure but does not go into great detail and is a rather elementary resource. There is a section for the study of artifacts, Sutton Hoo is put into historical context, relati ons to Beowulf are discussed, and there is also a section on archaeology.

This text is an excellent anthology of Sutton Hoo study and is strongly recommended. Bruce-Mitford, Rupert L. Aspects of Anglo-Saxon Archaeology. New York: Harper, DA B78 b ROBA. London: British Museum, B ROBA. The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial. Carver, M. Sutton Hoo: Burial Ground of Kings? London: British Museum Press, c C37 Cramp, Rosemary. Evans, Angela Care. The Sutton Hoo Ship-Burial.

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