Sutton Hoo Quiz: The Helmet, Ship Burial and Anglo-Saxon Gold

A landowner named Edith Pretty asked a local digger to open the mounds on her estate, and this Sutton Hoo quiz reveals what he found. Play 10 interactive questions on Basil Brown, Mound 1, the ghost ship, King Raedwald, the iconic helmet, the gold buckle, garnet shoulder clasps, the purse lid, the British Museum and the 2021 film The Dig.

Start Sutton Hoo Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

County
In which English county is Sutton Hoo?
Year
In which year was the great ship burial excavated?
Digger
Who first excavated Mound 1?
Owner
Who owned the land and hired him?
Ship
Roughly how long was the buried ship?
King
Which king is most likely buried there?
Helmet
Which iconic object was rebuilt from hundreds of fragments?
Buckle
What is the great buckle made of?
Garnets
What technique decorates the shoulder clasps?
Museum
Where are the treasures displayed?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: In which English county is Sutton Hoo?
Answer: Suffolk
It is near Woodbridge.
Q2: In which year was the great ship burial excavated?
Answer: 1939
War was about to begin.
Q3: Who first excavated Mound 1?
Answer: Basil Brown
He was a self-taught archaeologist.
Q4: Who owned the land and hired him?
Answer: Edith Pretty
She later donated the finds.
Q5: Roughly how long was the buried ship?
Answer: About 27 meters
Only its rivets and imprint survived.
Q6: Which king is most likely buried there?
Answer: Raedwald of East Anglia
He died around 624.
Q7: Which iconic object was rebuilt from hundreds of fragments?
Answer: The Sutton Hoo helmet
It has a face mask.
Q8: What is the great buckle made of?
Answer: Gold
It is hollow and richly decorated.
Q9: What technique decorates the shoulder clasps?
Answer: Garnet cloisonne
Garnets sit in gold cells.
Q10: Where are the treasures displayed?
Answer: The British Museum
Edith Pretty donated them.

Sutton Hoo Quiz – The Helmet, Ship Burial and Anglo-Saxon Gold

Sutton Hoo, near Woodbridge in Suffolk, is a group of Anglo-Saxon burial mounds. In 1939 landowner Edith Pretty hired local excavator Basil Brown, who uncovered the outline of a ship about 27 meters long in Mound 1.

The wood had rotted, leaving rivets and an imprint in the sand, but a burial chamber held extraordinary treasures. The person buried is thought to be Raedwald, king of East Anglia, who died around 624.

Finds include the iconic helmet, rebuilt from fragments, a hollow gold buckle, shoulder clasps decorated with garnet cloisonne and a richly decorated purse lid. Pretty donated them to the British Museum, and the 2021 film The Dig tells the story.

What This Quiz Teaches

History fans will enjoy these questions.

Where Sutton Hoo is
Who excavated it
What was buried there
Who was buried
Where the finds are now

Did You Know?

The site is cared for by the National Trust.
The finds were hidden in a London Underground tunnel during the war.
No body was found, likely due to acidic soil.
Coins helped date the burial.
A replica ship has been built by volunteers.