He also recovered a beautiful piece of blue glass, a gilt bronze disc, iron knives and the tip of a sword blade. Mound 2 revealed pieces of iron, which Basil recognised as ships’ rivets - although having been previously scattered by grave robbers, they did not immediately suggest a ship burial. Within Mound 3, he unearthed the remains of a cremated man, along with a corroded iron axe-head, part of a decorated limestone plaque, fragments of pottery and the lid of a Mediterranean jug. Whilst Basil was to discover that each of the mounds had been robbed, still they revealed hints of the glorious finds to come. This was made more difficult than usual, due to interference from ‘robbers trenches’ left by treasure seekers centuries before.

He was looking for a difference in soil colour, which indicates the presence of an in-filled chamber or grave. 1938 - A tantalising startĪfter being appointed by landowner Edith Pretty, local archaeologist Basil Brown’s initial excavation at Sutton Hoo took place in June and July of 1938, and focused on three of the burial mounds.īy using the traditional technique of cutting a trench across the mounds, Basil went in search of the chamber, or pit, that lies under all burial mounds. However, whilst so much that could have been learned had been lost, there was still a great deal yet to be discovered. Rather than explore further, the rivets were allegedly taken to a blacksmith to forge horseshoes.Īs with the Tudor treasure-seekers, these gentleman collectors left virtually no record of their finds. Whilst the excavator plundered a large quantity of rivets, they failed to appreciate that these were part of a ship burial. You can still see small dips in some of the mounds from this activity. 1860 - Plundering for profitĪ major campaign of excavation took place at Sutton Hoo in the 19th Century. It was through our good fortune, rather than a lack of trying, that these treasure-seekers missed the contents of at least two of the mounds, leaving them undisturbed for the future. Valuable objects found would have been melted down and shared between the finder and the Crown

Far from the honourable curiosity that later drove Edith Pretty and Basil Brown, these individuals were after treasure, of which they found a great deal. Having been left untouched since their creation in approximately 625AD, fast forward to the Tudor period, a time when people were able to obtain a license from the Crown to excavate here. We know that the archaeological explorations that unearthed the Great Ship Burial in 1939 were not the first attempts on Sutton Hoo’s mysterious mounds.

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