What is Sutton Hoo?
Sutton Hoo is an Anglo-Saxon burial site in Suffolk, famous for a ship burial discovered in 1939. The grave, probably of King Raedwald of East Anglia, contained treasures including the Sutton Hoo helmet.
The site contains about 20 burial mounds. In 1939, landowner Edith Pretty hired local archaeologist Basil Brown to excavate the largest mound.
Brown uncovered the impression of a 27-metre ship. The wood had rotted away, but the rivets and the shape of the ship remained in the sand.
Treasures
The burial chamber contained gold jewelry, silverware, weapons, coins and the famous iron helmet. The objects show that Anglo-Saxon England had wealth and international connections.
Edith Pretty donated the treasure to the British Museum, where it is displayed today.
The burial is thought to date from the early 600s. Historians believe it was for Raedwald, a king of East Anglia who died around 624.
The excavation was dramatized in the 2021 film The Dig, starring Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan. The National Trust manages the site.
A viewing tower at the site lets visitors look across the burial mounds.