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Sutton Hoo is located near Woodbridge. The site is generally known for its elaborate ship burial, assumed by many to be the burial place of Anglo-Saxon King Raedwald. When excavated in 1939, the burial comprised the form of a ship with many in-situ rivets. In the central section of the boat a burial chamber had been constructed containing a number of high status burial goods including a helmet, silver bowls and spoons, a purse, shoulder clasps and golden buckle. It is likely that the mound would have been visible rising above the estuary at the time of its construction.
A number of further barrow burials were also excavated around the ship burial, all containing cremated individuals buried with objects usually denoting wealth or status including a coffined male with a horse, a woman's chamber grave and a smaller ship burial. The cemetery was in use in the last quarter of the 6th century and first quarter of the 7th century AD. In addition, the cemetery also contained a number of inhumations of probable execution victims dated to the 8th and 9th centuries AD.
A further cemetery was discovered during the construction of the visitors centre at Sutton Hoo in 2000 which also contained a number of probably high-status burials. Recently a possible trackway was located close to the banks of the Deben (Suffolk County Council 2006).
Caption: Excavations at Sutton Hoo in 1939
Photo Source: Wikipedia