The Sutton Hoo Story: Encounters with Early England

The Sutton Hoo ship-burial is one of the most significant finds ever made in Europe. It lies in a burial ground which contains all the elements of archaeological mystery: seventeen mounds, buried treasure, and sacrificed horses. In this very accessible book, Martin Carver explains what we know of this site, at which the leaders of the Dark Age kingdom of East Anglia signalled the pagan and maritime nature of their court. This is the story not only of this dramatic place, but also of its exploration over half a century, which amounts to a potted history of British archaeology.

Table of Contents

Mrs Pretty digs up a ship
The British Museum's Treasure
A New Campaign
Before Sutton Hoo: c.3000 BC to c.AD 600
Burial Ground of Kings AD 590 to 650
The Gallows and the Gentry AD 650 to 1938
Now entertain conjecture of a time: Painting a picture of the seventh century
Bibliography and Sources
Background reading on Anglo-Saxon England
Archaeological Records
Notes to Text