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SUTTON HOO - My Buried History

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Bianca
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« Reply #60 on: January 14, 2008, 08:12:48 am »




REMNANTS OF THE LYRE
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« Reply #61 on: January 14, 2008, 08:18:00 am »



THE LYRE RECONSTRUCTED
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« Reply #62 on: January 14, 2008, 08:29:18 am »







English-Scandinavian Connection: 

The objects found at Sutton Hoo exhibit a very unique style.  At the time of the Sutton Hoo burial, this style was virtually extinct in most parts of the world.  Parts of England and Scandinavia were the only areas continuing to use these these styles.  This fact proves that trade existed between England and Scandinavia.
 


   
                                                            
There remains a mystery surrounding the silver spoons found at Sutton Hoo.  Ship burial was a
traditional pagan ritual, and most items found at Sutton Hoo exhibited Scandinavian or Anglican
characteristics. 

However, these spoons were inscribed with the words Savlos and Pavlos. 

These inscriptions read Saul and Paul when translated from the Greek. The mysterious silver spoons
demonstrate a Christian and Eastern influence that is not present in the other findings.
 

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« Reply #63 on: January 14, 2008, 08:39:22 am »











                                  2007: Saturday & Sunday 8 and 9 September





Maritime Woodbridge is an annual event in celebration of Woodbridge’s maritime and riverside heritage from Anglo-Saxon times to the present day, including a free concert..

Classic wooden boats, from coracles to a Thames Sailing Barge, will gather in the town’s docks, and craftsmen will demonstrate traditional sailing boat crafts in a marine and heritage exhibition in the Whisstocks boat sheds.



                               Star attraction is the 40-foot Sutton Hoo replica ship



                                                    S A E   W Y L F I N G
« Last Edit: January 14, 2008, 08:43:27 am by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #64 on: January 14, 2008, 08:50:01 am »











The ship burial found under a mound at the burial site in Sutton Hoo is, along with the poem Beowulf, probably
the greatest surviving examples of Anglo-Saxon culture in England. The whole Sutton Hoo cemetery covered a
time span of many generations, from Heathen times to Christian times.

But it is the ship burial found in mound (1) that really catches people's attention and imagination.

Though not the only ship 'burial' in England, it certainly is the richest, and not just in England, but also the whole
of Europe. Although some Christian artefacts were found in the ship burial, there's no doubt that the burial itself was a Heathen one. Ship burials and the inclusion of personal items, like jewellery and weapons in graves,
were very much a Heathen custom.

The grave goods would have been personal possessions or weapons buried with the ship to use in the afterlife.
It's still not known for sure who the burial was for, or if he was actually buried with the ship.  The reason for
this is because no actual body or remains were found, which could suggest that the burial was a symbolic one,
maybe the intended was lost at sea or in battle.

But some have suggested that, because the remains of a coffin were found, then the body was, more than likely,
interred with the ship.  Sadly, due to the acidic nature of the soil where the grave was dug, the body may have simply dissolved over the period of 1400 years that he was buried before discovery.

The best candidate to have been buried with the ship is East Anglian King Redwald.  Redwald was described to us by the scholar Bede as a man who was partially converted to Christianity at the Kentish Court of King Ethelbert, but on his return to East Anglia, he is said to have been led astray by his wife and others, back to Heathenism.
But it seems that Redewald intented to honour both Heathen and Christian gods, for in his Heathen temple he erected a Christian altar alongside his Heathen one.

There is no doubt at all that the ship burial was for a member of the Royal Family.
Redwald was the King of the East Angles druring the early to middle of the seventh century and experts believe
that the ship burial itself dates to no later than at least 650CE.

And, as mentioned earlier, although the burial was Heathen, Christian artifacts were also found inside the grave,
suggesting it was also partially influenced by Christianity, again pointing to King Redwald.

The artifacts found in the burial ship suggest very close cultural and religious connection with the people of Sweden, but rather than being the same people, it's more than likely that thwey just shared in the same culture.
Ship burials have also been found in Sweden that date roughly the same period in time.  The connection between East Anglia and Sweden is also seen in the art work.   On the Sutton Hoo helmet a design is visible showing two men dancing whilst holding spears and swords and very, very similar designs have been found in Swedish soil,
giving further examples of close relantions betweeen Dark Age Sweden and East Anglia.

The ship itself was probably dragged from the River Deben far inland to its place of burial.  It's not known how this was achieved, but the use of rollers, probably logs, is the most likely and sensible solution.

Guesses have been made that the ship could hold between 20 and 40 oarsmen, some have pointed to the fact that 37 coins were found in the dead king's purse, which may have been payment to 37 'mythical oarsmen' to row him to the after life which, in turn, may suggest that the ship could hold 37 real oarsmen.

The ship burial has also been linked to the Old English epic poem Beowulf. In this poem we read about another
ship burial, this time at sea, which is extremely similar to the Sutton Hoo one in it's description and grave goods,
but whether they are connected isn't sure.

The discovery of the Sutton Hoo ship burial has given many an insight into the culture and society of the early Anglo-Saxons, and has gone a long way to portraying them as a highly cultured and civilized  people, rather than the usual stereotype of blood-thirsty brutal barbarians, a fate that has also befallen the later Vikings.


http://englishheathenism.homestead.com/shipburial.html
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« Reply #65 on: January 16, 2008, 05:22:34 pm »









                                                    AD 700 - Sutton Hoo 

 

Cemetery



The excavations in 1939 revealed a magnificent ship burial. However the excavations took place under the
shadow of war, and had to be hurriedly concluded. However the great barrow that covered the ship did not
stand alone.was merely the largest mound in a cemetery of 19 mounds and numerous other burials, and in
the 1980s, a new excavation was launched to reveal the rest of the cemetery.

Martin Carver, who directed the excavation on behalf of the British Museum and the Society of Antiquaries, presented his work as a drama in Three Acts in which we see the grand Twilight of the Gods of the pagan
Saxons in face of the rising tide of Christianity that was to overwhelm them.





Aerial View


The excavations lie at the centre of this panoramic view. The Ship burial mound is below and to the left -
between the excavations and the excavators' compound.

In the distance, at the top, is the River Deben, with the town of Woodbridge beyond it.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2008, 06:38:40 pm by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #66 on: January 16, 2008, 05:26:50 pm »








Burial of horse and rider



The most spectacular of the recent discoveries was this double burial under a single mound, of a young
man in the pit to the left, and his horse in the right hand grave. Some of the grave goods can be seen to
the right of the young man, first a bucket, then a bronze cauldron with a pot inside it beneath. At the top
of the coffin is the horse harness.



The excavator sees this as being the beginning of the cemetery - Act 1 of the drama. This is indeed a very
high caste grave, - but it is not a royal grave. This rich burial, though unusual, would not be out of place in
a folk cemetery. But the cemetery is beginning to become a high status cemetery.

The ship that was buried was presumably hauled up the steep slope from the river.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2008, 06:41:32 pm by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #67 on: January 16, 2008, 05:32:04 pm »



Plan of Sutton Hoo







The two ship burials are marked by ship signs. The great burial is centre left, the smaller ship burial
-see below - is at the top.

These graves mark Act II of the drama. Christianity was beginning to make itself felt, and the pagans,
under pressure, responded by indulging in ever more elaborate ritual. Cremation was adopted, in defiance
of Christianity: two burials were in bronze bowls, one was placed on an oak tray.

Most sinister of all, there is a hint of human sacrifice. Mound 5, just below the the ship burial mound 2,
has several burials - inhumations - surrounding a central cremation. Most enigmatic of all is the small
group of graves to the right, many of them buried in distorted positions.

Were they sacrifices round a central tree?
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« Reply #68 on: January 16, 2008, 05:35:22 pm »








The ship Burials


In the final phase - Act III - the most extravagant burial method of all was adopted - ship burial. There were two ship burials at Sutton Hoo - the great ship burial excavated in 1939, and the smaller one in mound 2, excavated in 1938 and here being re-excavated in 1985.

Instead of the ship being buried first and a chamber built inside it, here the chamber was built first, and the ship was then placed on top of it. Here we see the rectangular chamber at the bottom, with the outline of the ship above it. Unfortunately it had already been robbed, probably in 1860, but the excavators were still able to find a few fragments from which they were able to suggest the position of the body, and that it was accompanied by a sword, a shield, drinking horns, and a cauldron and cauldron chain.

The mound has now been reconstructed and forms the most prominent feature on the site.





The final Scene - Act III, Scene 2 - was the great ship burial, excavated in 1939 - but for this you will have to go and see the actual treasures, now in the British Museum! After that, the curtain falls. Christianity triumphs, and the cemetery is abandoned. Paganism suffers the fate of the losers: it is derided, disparaged - and forgotten.
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« Reply #69 on: January 16, 2008, 05:40:03 pm »








Visiting Sutton Hoo





For long, Sutton Hoo was in private hands, but in 1998 it was given to the National Trust. A Visitor Centre has been opened, and visitors are now welcome. It is situated off the B10832 road, two miles east of Woodbridge [TM288487]. Here is a short guide to what you may see on your visit.

Click here for the official National Trust web site, with the opening hours.

(Note there is a charge for entering the car park. Opening hours are restricted: it closes at 5 in the summer, and is only open at weekends in the winter. However it is, (I believe) possible to walk round the site even when the Visitor Centre is closed).

Click here for the web pages of the Sutton Hoo society who occasionally conduct excellent guided tours of the site.

 



Approaching the visitor Centre





The Visitor Centre (which is the dark building on the left) is set in
the courtyard of the former stables of Tranmer House
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« Reply #70 on: January 16, 2008, 05:43:12 pm »









The Visitor Centre

 





The Centre consists of two buildings, the Exhibition
Hall (right) and the shop and cafe (left)

 

 

 



It is a long walk from the Visitor Centre to the
Burial Ground - it is said to be only 500 metres,
but it feels more like half a mile.
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« Reply #71 on: January 16, 2008, 05:48:18 pm »



Tranmer House.

This is where Mrs Pretty lived, who sponsored the
original excavations in 1939, and then gave the
treasure to the British Museum.

It is now an Educational Centre

 







Then above, notice the glimpses of the River Deben,
and imagine what it must have been like to haul a
ship up from the river to the burial place.
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« Reply #72 on: January 16, 2008, 06:25:43 pm »



Eventually the cemetery appears, in the form of Mound 2.



It must be said, it is a little misleading in that Mound 2 is the only mound to have been 'restored' in the
course of the recent excavations. It has been restored more or less to its original height, but since none
of the other mounds have been restored, mound 2 dominates the whole cemetery.

Mound 2 was never as big, or as important, as Mound 1. It was nevertheless probably the second most
important mound, for it too contained a ship burial (probably) though unlike Mound 1, it had been robbed,
and therefore no trace remained of the original burial.









The visitors are not allowed to go in among the mounds, but have to keep to the path and walk
around the outside.

At first the mounds are barely visible, but gradually the outline of the low mounds become clear
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« Reply #73 on: January 16, 2008, 06:32:04 pm »



Note the field on the other side of the pathway.

It has a most unusual crop - turf!

Every year it is sown to grass, the grass is mown and made into beautiful turf, which is them
lifted and taken off to some lucky garden somewhere.

When the turf is growing it is a lovely grassy sight; after it has been harvested, the field is just
bare earth.










The ship mound itself is, after all this, a little disappointing. There is a viewing platform from
which it can be viewed - just so you know where it was. The ends of the ship are marked out
by two thin posts - one of them can just be seen slightly left of centre.

But this is where the greatest treasure ever discovered in Britain, was once buried.
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« Reply #74 on: January 16, 2008, 06:53:35 pm »








The Excavations under the Visitor Centre



What was Sutton Hoo like, before the great ship burial? When the National Trust was given Sutton
Hoo, they set about building a Visitor Centre. This meant that they had to carry out excavations under
the Visitor Centre - presuming there would be nothing there.

To their surprise, the excavations revealed a second, smaller and hitherto unknown Saxon cemetery.

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