Which features of the Sutton Hoo 1 ship burial support the hypothesis that it was a royal grave?

“In 1939 a series of mounds at Sutton Hoo in England revealed their astounding contents: the remains of an Anglo-Saxon
funerary ship and a huge cache of seventh-century royal treasure.”(Walker 2017) Archaeologist being stunned by the
complexity and significance of the hoard came to the hypothesis that it could only belong to someone of high status. The
evidence unearthed supported the theory of that of a king. A king with a vast amount of wealth and power, a king with
respect, I king from the Anglo- Saxon era.    

In the summer of 1938 a year before the great discovery, a series of prodigious mounds were excavated in a small town 10
km off the Suffolk coast by the name of Sutton Hoo, the excavation being led by self-taught archaeologist Basil Brown.
Brown having originally been approached by the landowner Edith pretty, who had had a fascination with these mysterious
mounds decided to purchase the property the mounds lay on a few years previous. Over the summer period Brown and his
team excavated multiple mounds, discovering significant artefacts but inconsequential too that which was about to be
discovered.

The following year browns team decided to excavate one of the larger mounds, believing that if there were any important
artefacts that surly, they would have been taken. This would have been due to the evidence of previous tampering most
probably past grave robbers. 

They decided to proceed with the excavations unaware of what they were about to find. As they dug, they came across
hard earth, the earth contained rust, a sign of a metallic presence. The rust turned out to be the corrosion of the nails
discovered close by. As they proceeded, they discovered that the nails were found at regular intervals “Brown realized that
he had found the imprint of a ship, more than 80 feet in length. Although the wood had long since decayed, its ghostly
outline and rich cargo of grave goods remained intact.” 

Brown initially was ordered to cease work immediately to allow the curator of the Ipswich museum ‘Mr. Maynard’ to
organize a professional team to excavate the site, but brown did not. Brown carried on the excavation along with MS. Edith
and the rest of the team.

The imprint of the now decomposed timber planks which laid embedded in the earth, aloud archaeologist to survey and
record the structure of the ship, she was 27 meters in length, 4.4 meters in width and had a depth of 1.5 meters and was
constructed in a fashion called lapstrake, which meant that the planks over laid one another. A method used at the time, it
let the vessel absorb the pressure of the waves, which allowed it to travel long distances across open seas with less of an
impact on the structure and crew. A very remarkable idea. 

However, the correct excavation of vessel being so crucial to English heritage, was taken over by archaeologist Charles
Phillips of Cambridge university who had the support of some of Britain’s finest museums. “Phillips' team included W.F.
Grimes and O.G.S. Crawford of the Ordnance Survey, Peggy and Stuart Piggott, and other friends and colleagues.” (Carver
1998)

As the excavation continued “The significance of Sutton Hoo was instantly recognized. The largest Anglo-Saxon ship burial
ever discovered contained artefacts of a quality and quantity never seen before, and this fresh evidence of England’s early
warrior society.”(walker 2017) Although many artefacts remained, not a trace of an human skeleton was unearthed,
leading to believe that there was no skeleton, or the acidity of the soil was so intense that it dissolved not only the human
tissue but also the skeleton too. Later testing of the soil confirmed that there was once a human body present and the soil
being very acidic did cause the skeleton to decompose. However, the artefacts discovered have taught us a lot about who
the individual may have been and social status they held.

The evidence of the excavation has shown that the vessel would have been carried from the nearby river Deben some 100
meters away, the amount of man power taken to lift and carry this vessel is huge, not for getting the time it had taken to
prepare the ditch for the vessel to be laid in.  

A total of 265 objects were discover during the excavation of which is now known as mound 1, which included a vast array
of precious metals such as gold, silver, iron, tin and bronze. also, Rare garnet stones, which gave huge symbolic meaning to
the once personal artefacts. The artefacts tell us a story of cultural and religious belief of the person they were buried with
but also the custom at the time. “The ship-burial discovered under Mound 1 in 1939 contained one of the most
magnificent archaeological finds in England for its size and completeness, far-reaching connections, the quality and beauty
of its contents, and for the profound interest it generated.” 
The discovery of the Sutton Hoo helmet is probably the most important find, although the helmet when unearthed was
broken into several pieces due to the vast amount of pressure from the collapse of the earth mound above, it shed a vast
amount of light on the religious and cultural belief of the individual and possibly the society at the time. The construction
of the helmet must have taken a copious amount of skill and time, the reliefs depicted on the exterior of the helmet are an
emergence of cultural and religious belief of the personal who wore it. The three dragon motifs on in the centre of the
helmet are believed to be a representation of the god Odin who was a worshiped and feared in Norse mythology, likewise
the dancing warrior, thought also to be from some kind of cult which may of worshiped Norse god Odin and displayed a
dance to pay tribute to him. also, the rider and fallen warrior which may also relate to both the Roman and Germanic
cultures of their past ancestors.

"The core of the helmet was constructed of iron and consisted of a cap from which hung a face mask and cheek and neck
guards. The cap was beaten into shape from a single piece of metal. On either side of it were hung iron cheek guards, deep
enough to protect the entire side of the face, and curved inward both vertically and horizontally. Two hinges per side,
possibly made of leather, supported these pieces, allowing them to be pulled flush with the face mask and fully enclose the
face. A neck guard was attached to the back of the cap and made of two overlapping pieces: a shorter piece set inside the
cap, over which attached a "broad fan-like portion" extending downwards, "straight from top to bottom but curved
laterally to follow the line of the neck. “The inset portion afforded the neck guard extra movement, and like the cheek
guards was attached to the cap by leather hinges. Finally, the face mask was riveted to the cap on both sides and above the
nose.– Two cut-outs served as eye openings, while a third opened into the hollow of the overlaid nose, thereby facilitating
access to the two nostril-like holes underneath; though small, these holes would have been among the few sources of fresh
air for the wearer."(Mitford 1978).
The construction and the design were not solely for symbolic purposes, but made for comfort as well as protection, many
have come to believe that it may have been used during a battle.
However, the helmet was not the only important discovery of evidence which implies to royal status, “An ornate sword
was laid beside the dead person, its hilt (handle) made of gold inlaid with garnet gemstones. Delicate beaded wire used to
decorate the hilt is badly worn down.” (Brunning 2014), the wearing of the gold was more prominent on one side than the
other, implying that the individual was most probably left-handed, the sword hung from the right side of the person’s body
and so they rested their hand on the hilt for comfort, but also to stabilize the sword when moving around.
Garnets have been used since time and immemorial among royalty to demonstrate wealth and status, but as red garnets
are not commonly discovered across Europe so they may have been imported from as far as Asia or Africa, which tells us
demand for such a stone was in high demand and affordability only reserved for royalty. On top of this a technique called
Cloisonné was used to embed the gemstones into the metal by someone who was highly skilled and trusted in jewellery
design. The burial of such affluent sword indicates the importance of the person it was buried with, and the respect they
were given. The shoulder clasps, purse and great buckle are probably the most important items that indicate that the
person was a royal, as these all are from persons belonging, we can start to understand the importance of this person. 
The other objects included a circular shield with a predominant boss within the middle, the boss was ornamented with
garnets and animal drawings, a mail coat ,“Along the wall was a long square-sectioned whetstone, tapered at either end
and carved with human faces on each side. A ring mount, topped by a bronze antlered stag figurine, was fixed to the upper
end, possibly made to resemble a late Roman consular Skepta.” (Mitford 1986; Evans 1986, Plunkett 2001). A large
cauldron was also discovered with a heavy metal chain approximately 11 foot in length which would have hung from a high
ceiling within a hall or some kind or temple, a large silver Coptic bowl believed to be from as far as the eastern side of the
Mediterranean, possibly even given has a gift from another monarch. The bronze bowls, silver dish, iron bound wooden
buckets, drinking horns, wooden and pottery bottles and musical instruments are all item the individual would have used
during day to day living. 
The burial type and location also allow us to date and identify the late Anglo-Saxon period, due to the burial methods used
and the combined pagan and Christian artefacts found. The Early Anglo-Saxons cremated there dead but due to the arrival
of Christianity in the later period, it had a profound effect on culture and religion especially from the middle of England
across the east coast. Mound 1 was a perfect example of that, it seems to be that the people of this era were not quite
sure who they were or what religion they believed in, it seems that not even kings were excluded from that.  
The meticulously placement and value of the combination of all the items discovered are without doubt demonstration of
authority, admiration and devotion to the individual from their followers. However, we cannot prove with certainty that
the individual buried in mound 1 had was a king or even had a royal status. The artefacts found could of easily have been
given by family members or those who just attended the funeral who had great admiration and respect for them.
Objects like the helmet give the impression of something more important, although we can clearly see the significance of
keeping one’s head safe during a battle, it also gives the impression of a crown, a primitive crown, a predecessor of a crown
that will come, one that we may use today.
“The presence of items identified as regalia has been used to support the idea that the burial commemorates a king”
(Keynes 1992). Using evidence from culture and fashion from later excavations we can with probable evaluation say that
the regalia was most probably a male. Along with the idea that regalia only is worn by males and kings especially this may
be a strong case.
However, we can argue that the evidence found in other royal burial mounds and locations from around the world,
indicate that only a person from a royal background would have been buried with such elaborate and expensive artefacts. I
believe our own understanding and definition of a king or somebody with a royal status makes us lean more towards the
idea that extreme wealth and very expensive jewels automatically elevates them to royal status. Although this is mostly
likely the case, we still must stay open minded and not project our own biased beliefs on the objects discovered, in case of
misrepresentation of the past. 
One of the main theories Archaeologist and historians have come to believe, is that the burial belongs to a king who was on
the thrown during the 7 century period and ruled east Anglia, his name was king Rædwald! A king who ruled over the
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lands of Norfolk and Suffolk during the 7 century period. One of the issues are, that there is no written evidence directly to
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supporting this theory. however, several writings from that period that support and contradict the theory that it is king
Rædwald burial mound. The truth is that we will properly never know who the grave belongs too or that they were even of
royal descent. Only the artefacts discovered indicate that the individual may have been, and from the we get the
hypothesis that the Sutton Hoo 1 burial was of royal descent.
Written sources at the time seem to portray the Anglo-Saxon kings were not all equal and they did not all have the same
amount of wealth, power or status. The segregation of the kingdoms must have influenced that, the southern kingdoms of
East Anglia, Wessex and Kent were wealthy and all throughout stronger than the northern kingdoms of Mercia and
Northumbria. This obviously was depicted in the artefacts discovered at Sutton Hoo.  
 “In any case there is a notion that death includes a journey to the hereafter and that the deceased must be interred with
objects from the world of the living, such as weapons, money, drinking horns, and musical instruments. The burial at
Sutton Hoo, like those of confirmed Viking burials, shows a well-developed notion of the afterlife.” The discovery has
forever changed the way we look at the Anglo- Saxons and the great effect they had on the cultural, religious and
ideological beliefs that have shaped our country and which is still embedded in our society today.