Abstract
Antiquityof March last is devoted to a detailed account of the discovery, excavation and finds of the Sutton Hoo ship-burial. The excavation is described by Mr. C. W. Phillips, who points out that until 1939 the archaeology of Britain in Anglo-Saxon times has had to concern itself little with either ship-burials or to a great extent with rich burials of any kind, for omitting those of Kent, and a few important burials at Taplow, Broomfield and elsewhere, the most striking feature of Anglo-Saxon graves is their almost universal poverty. In the more detailed “description of the finds Mr. T. D. Kendrick gives accounts of the gold ornaments, the large hanging bowl and the jewellery; the silver is described by Mr. Ernst Kitzinger, and a summary account of the coins is contributed by the editor, Mr. O. G. S. Crawford. Mr. W. F. Grimes is responsible for a description of the methods followed in salvaging the finds, “an exciting and exacting task, extending over more than a week”, in which he was first called to participate when the gold purse and its trappings had been found. Serious problems were presented by corrosion, but their solution called for no new and elaborate technical methods, but rather the application of simple readily available means to deal with an unexpected range of materials, each apart from the gold objects with its own set of problems. The identity of the individual whom the mound and its contents commemorated is discussed in full detail by Dr. H. Munro Chadwick, who accepts the possibility that it may have been the cenotaph of a king lost at sea-the editor of Antiquityhere points out that there never has been question of a burial. After discussion of the various possibilities Dr. Chadwick elects for Redwald (ob. c.624-5) as the most probable. The series of photographs accompanying these contributions constitutes a valuable record of this notable find.
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Antiquitya Sutton Hoo Number. Nature 145, 585 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145585a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145585a0