Sutton Hoo, is the National Trust’s archaeological site near Woodbridge in Suffolk. The presenter Pete Carter has been a volunteer and museum guide at Sutton Hoo for more than five years. In the talk Pete describes the Anglo-Saxon cemetery on the Sutton Hoo estate and tells the story of how the famous Ship Burial, believed to be that of the 7th Century East Anglian King Rædwald, was discovered in 1939.
Some of the personalities involved with the dig are covered, as well as how the archaeology revealed an astonishing wealth of material, a find of unique importance in English history. An explanation is given of how the grave goods and treasures found in the excavations cast a bright light into the Dark Ages, and in doing so substantially broadened our understanding of the society of the time. There will be replica objects to look at and time for questions.
Pete specialises in Sutton Hoo’s history and artefacts, and has developed a particular interest in the overall context of the middle Saxon period, several hundred years during which English society was progressing from a comparatively disorganised patchwork of sparring tribes to what we now recognise as a single nation state.
