Sutton-Hoo

The Sutton Hoo ship burial provides a remarkable insight into early Anglo-Saxon society. It reveals exquisite craftsmanship and the existence of extensive trading networks, spanning to the Mediterranean Sea and beyond. It also proves that the world of formidable warriors, glittering treasures and great halls depicted in Beowulf and other Anglo-Saxon poetry was not a myth. It was reality. The graves show the rituals and traditions of a culture where pagan customs were slowly being supplanted by Christian doctrine.

The early seventh century was a chaotic, tumultuous era between paganism and Christianity. Religion was highly politicized during this period. Sutton Hoo is one of the most important and valuable physical links to the pagan world in Britain. The site consists of several earthen mounds which were formed between 625 and 670, AD.

Mound 1 contained a wooden ship approximately 86 feet long.

The discovery at Sutton Hoo was tremendously important for expanding our historical awareness of Anglo-Saxon art and culture of East Anglia in the 7th century. Sutton Hoo provides scholars with a fascinating blend of Christian and pagan traditions which help to shed more light on certain passages from Anglo-Saxon poetry of the era. The epic sagas now have tangible, archaeological evidence to add credibility to the often strange hybrid of customs presented in the text.

In 1939, archaeologists uncovered a remarkable find near Woodbridge, a small town in Suffolk, England, not far from the river Deben. Amateur archeologist Basil Brown was hired to excavate a burial mound on the property of a local landowner – a widower by the name of Edith Pretty. Beneath the largest mound Brown discovered an early seventh century grave, apparently dedicated to a powerful king. He immediately understood the importance of his discovery.

In June of that year, Basil contacted a professor at a local college, Charles Phillips, and invited him to take over control of the project. Phillips’ team hit pay-dirt the following month when Peggy Piggot came upon a mysterious, intricately crafted gold and glass pyramid.

In the center of the ship, buried beneath mound one the team discovered a ruined burial chamber packed with treasures: Byzantine silverware, gold jewelry, a lavish feasting set and most famously, an ornate iron helmet. This incredible burial site was clearly meant to honor a leading figure in East Anglia, the local Anglo-Saxon kingdom.

There was no evidence of a corpse, which led some archeologists to assume that the site was a cenotaph, a monument commemorating someone whose body is buried elsewhere. Chemical analysis showed that there could have been a body inside the ship at one time, however. Evidence of residual phosphates in the soil indicated that the site originally contained a cadaver which was subsequently eaten away by the highly acidic phosphates over time, causing the body to fully decompose. Evans is convinced that a body was indeed laid to rest within the burial chamber. The grave is more likely an inhumation.

If true, it is likely a monument to King Redwald of East Anglia, who died in 624 or 625 AD. This is the approximate date of some of the coins found at the site. If indeed he was the occupant of the burial mound at Sutton Hoo, it was a fitting tribute to a great king and more importantly – the passing of the pagan era in Britain.

Included among the objects discovered was a purse. The purse contained a variety of coins dating to about 625 which has led scholars to further suggest the identification as Redwald. The East Anglian king was clearly important enough to be ritually buried in a ship.

The small assortment of Christian artifacts found among the pagan objects is perhaps the most significant aspect of the burial site discovered at Sutton Hoo. While it does not have any of the hallmarks of a Christian burial, artifacts found at the site such as the engraved spoons suggest a decidedly Christian element mingled with pagan ritual. This makes sense, considering the way in which Christianity spread throughout the British Isles.

Although the Christians in England made no attempt to convert the Anglo-Saxons, Rome periodically sent envoys beginning in the late 6th century to try and persuade the kings to do so. More powerful kings were often able to convince fellow kings to convert. Despite those who relapsed into paganism, England – at least officially – was fully Christianized by the beginning of the 8th century.

The Venerable Bede, author of History of the English Church and People, identifies Redwald as the first East Anglian king to have converted to Christianity.

This would be consistent with a pair of spoons found in the burial chamber. One spoon is inscribed with the name Saul and the other with Paul. Historians believe these were christening spoons referring to Saul – who became Paul after his conversion to Christianity. They were found with silver bowls that include outwardly Christian motifs. The spoons have been identified as presents likely given during a baptismal ceremony.

King Redwald subsequently relapsed into paganism and apparently kept shrines to both Christian and pagan deities throughout the rest of his life.

Besides the spoons and bowls, the lack of any more substantial Christian relics indicates that the commemorated man identified more with pagan beliefs than the new religion from Rome. The burial at Sutton Hoo does not fit the profile of a Christian king. Redwald ruled for many years, and by most accounts maintained a collective worship of two different faiths. The evidence unearthed at Sutton Hoo closely reflects a duality of religious beliefs.

The historical record is difficult to re-construct because there are so few primary sources available from the period. This is probably due to the events of the ninth century, when Viking raids resulted in the destruction of the major archive-holders of the day: churches and monasteries. Clues within the burial chamber yielded some starting points about the earliest date the burial could have occurred. Many features of the burial coincide with what Bede and other sources say about Redwald: that he kept two altars, and that he was marginally Christian.

Arguably, the most important discovery at Sutton Hoo concerns the coins because they are the easiest to date. Extensive study has revealed that they were probably gathered together between the dates of 625 and 630 AD, all from different mints. The fact that the king was sent into the afterlife with 40 coins could be connected to the pagan belief in “spiritual oarsmen.”

Redwald was the first king of the East Angles to become a Christian, converting some time before 605, while simultaneously maintaining a pagan altar in his home. In receiving the faith, he helped to ensure the survival of Christianity in East Anglia during this chaotic time. At some point during the 590s, Redwald married a woman whose name is unknown to history, although Bede confirms that she was a pagan.

In East Anglia, the king’s conversion was not universally accepted by his followers – especially not his queen. According to several scholars, Redwald’s wife persuaded him to renounce part of his commitment to the Christian faith. As a result, he kept two altars, one pagan and another dedicated to Christ. Bede blames Redwald’s queen and other advisers for turning him from the ‘righteous path.’ Redwald’s conversion happened relatively early in the context of Christian missions to England. This explains why Redwald continued his pagan practices and why the objects left behind at Sutton Hoo are proportionally more pagan than Christian.

Redwald did not behave “honorably” as a king, according to Bede. In the year 627, Bede recorded that Redwald accepted the Christian faith but that he kept pagan altars as well. He compares Redwald to the Samaritans of St. Augustine’s time, saying that “he tried to serve both Christ and the ancient pagan gods.” This contradiction of Christian virtues and pagan faith was a common experienced shared by many Anglo-Saxon rulers in the decades following the introduction of Christianity to Britain.

If Sutton Hoo’s mound 1 is indeed a monument to Redwald, the overwhelming paganism is evident in the artifacts: snake, bird, dragons and boar’s head motifs are prominent among the precious objects discovered. The most obvious pagan element, of course, is the ship burial itself. Ship burials had been used in Scandinavia since prehistoric times; some were above ground stone works that resembled boats, and later these became mounds with boats interred. This practice was not solely Scandinavian – it took many forms in many different areas of the continent. Sutton Hoo was not a Viking burial: it was Anglo-Saxon.

Archeologists will never know the true identity of the great man buried at Sutton Hoo unless a new groundbreaking discovery is made. It is clear that whoever is interred at the site was of exceptional social status, enjoyed immense personal wealth, and wielded great power. The objects buried with him give archeologists an enlightening glimpse into the truly sumptuous, heroic existence brought vividly to life in ancient Anglo-Saxon folklore and legends.

Bibliography

Evans, Angela Care. The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial. London: British Museum by British Museum Press. 2005.

Bede. A History of the English Church and People. Baltimore: Penguin. 1968.