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Reconstructing the past -

A team of volunteers in England are currently reconstructing an Anglo-Saxon burial ship using building techniques first employed in the 6th century CE.

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Anglo-Saxon longboat -

When completed, the vessel will be an exact replica of the type of boat that was used to bury a warrior chief in East Anglia 1,400 years ago during the early medieval era.

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Britain in the Dark Ages -

Historically, Anglo-Saxon England spans the six centuries from 410 to 1066 CE. It's a period also known as the Dark Ages, mainly because written records dating back to this era are scarce.

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Kingdom of East Anglia -

The Anglo-Saxons were migrants from northern Europe who settled in England in the 5th and 6th centuries. England was divided into seven kingdoms. One of these was the Kingdom of East Anglia.

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Medieval funerary tradition -

East Anglia was made up of Angles, a Germanic people. Around 625 CE, an Angle warrior of elite social standing drew his last breath. His status was such that the deceased merited a lavish funeral ceremony. The unnamed chieftain was laid to rest in a burial ship. The site would remain undisturbed for 1,400 years.

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Where is Sutton Hoo? -

His interment took place at Sutton Hoo near what is today the village of Woodbridge in Suffolk.

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Historic Woodbridge -

Woodbridge is set on the River Deben. It's been a center for boatbuilding, rope-making, and sail-making since the Middle Ages.

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Tranmer House -

Sutton Hoo resident Edith Pretty owned Tranmer House, along with the expanse of land surrounding the property.

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Burial mounds -

A keen amateur archaeologist, Edith Pretty had for some years been intrigued by what she believed were a series of ancient burial mounds embellishing the fields near her home. In 1937, she decided to excavate the mounds.

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Basil Brown begins excavations -

She employed the services of self-taught Suffolk archaeologist Basil Brown (seen in foreground). In 1938, Brown unearthed the remains of a large burial site, containing what was later identified as a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon ship.

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The discovery of the age -

As the dig progressed, experts from the British Museum were called in to assess the site. They were absolutely flabbergasted with what Brown and his humble cohorts had discovered, describing the find as "one of the most important archaeological discoveries of all time."

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Sutton Hoo helmet -

The excavation was subsequently taken over by professional archaeologists, in 1939. Besides the site including an entire 7th-century ship, an astonishingly rich cache of grave goods was also revealed. This included the now world-famous Sutton Hoo helmet. Made of bronze, silver wire, and garnet, it featured decorated panels depicting heroic scenes of battle.

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Headwear for a king? -

In the 1970s, the Royal Armouries crafted a replica of the helmet as it would have appeared before corrosion set in. Based on its exquisite design, some scholars believe Rædwald, king of the East Angles, is the most likely person to have been buried in the ship, although a body was never found. He died in 624 CE.

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Sutton Hoo buckle -

The burial chamber yielded more treasures, including the extraordinary Sutton Hoo buckle, or great gold buckle. It is considered a masterpiece of early medieval craftsmanship.

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Precious treasures -

Also numbering among the priceless hoard of intricately designed treasures made from precious metals and jewels was this gold bag purse lid with enamel decorations.

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Exquisite silverware -

This beautiful silver bowl embossed with a floral motif was one of the larger items found in the burial chamber.

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Priceless hoard -

The discovery unveiled fragments of exquisite gold jewelry and Anglo-Saxon pennies and weights associated with trade and commerce.

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Medieval artifacts -

Even those items damaged by centuries of corrosion such as metal spearheads and angons provided archaeologists with a wealth of material that shed further light on England's early medieval period.

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Bequeathed to the nation -

As the landowner, Edith Pretty was technically the owner of the outstanding hoard. But in a selfless gesture of goodwill, she donated the Sutton Hoo treasure to the British Museum. But what happened to the ship?

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A ship sunk forever -

Sadly, the ship didn't survive. The wood rotted away in the acidic soil. Captured for posterity in photographs and on film, however, was the precise position of the planks that left an impression in the sand. This ghostly outline would later prove useful as a blueprint during the vessel's reconstruction.

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New perspective -

The outbreak of the Second World War halted all further work on the Sutton Hoo burial mounds, all of which were covered over. The location of the site today is marked by Tranmere House itself and an engaging visitor center, both managed by the UK's National Trust. A viewing tower affords an uninterrupted panorama over the burial mounds.

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Recreating the burial chamber -

Meanwhile, a recreation of the burial ship, complete with a figure of the deceased occupant, works wonders on the imagination.

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The boat resurfaces -

A steel-framed sculpture of the burial ship regales visitors in the grounds outside the facility. Until recently, this was the only true representation of the Sutton Hoo ship. But she's about to enjoy a relaunch.

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Rebuilding the Sutton Hoo ship -

The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company in Woodbridge is in the process of reconstructing the longship as it would have looked in the 7th century.

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Down to the last detail -

The 26-m (88 ft) vessel is being built to Anglo-Saxon-era specifications using oak trees from East Anglia. Traditional tools such as axes to shape the timber are being used to build the ship. Even the bolts fixed to secure the hull are shaped as they would have looked nearly 1,500 years ago.

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Symbolic resurrection -

When completed, the ship will be given a permanent home and occasionally rowed across East Anglia's rivers and estuaries in a symbolic resurrection of a once familiar funerary tradition.

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'The Dig' (2021) -

And for anyone intrigued by the Sutton Hoo adventure but who can't make it over to the British Museum or the visitor center at Woodbridge, be sure to catch 'The Dig,' a British drama film released in 2021 by Netflix.

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Who portrays Edith Pretty? -

The movie, well-received by critics, retells the fascinating story behind the discovery of the long-buried ship. Carey Mulligan portrays Edith Pretty, the Sutton Hoo guardian and benefactor to the nation.

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Who portrays Basil Brown? -

The role of archaeologist Basil Brown, the man credited with discovering the ship, is played by Ralph Fiennes.

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Other principal characters -

Lily James plays Peggy Piggott who, along with Stuart Piggott (Ben Chaplin) and Charles Phillips (Ken Stott), was among the follow-up team who helped reveal Sutton Hoo to the world.

Sources: (British Museum) (CNN) (National Trust) (Daily Express)

See also: History's greatest archaeological discoveries

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