Sutton Hoo is the site of two early medieval cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near the English town of Woodbridge. Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when a previously undisturbed See more

Sutton Hoo lies along a bank of the tidal estuary of the River Deben. On the opposite bank the harbour town of Woodbridge stands 7 miles (11 km) from the North Sea and below the lowest convenient fording place. It formed a path of entry into East Anglia during the See more

Background
Following the withdrawal of the Romans from southern Britain after 410, Germanic tribes such as the Angles and Saxons began to settle in the southeastern part of the island. East Anglia is regarded by many scholars as a region … See more

Similarities with Swedish burials
A series of excavations in 1881–83 by Hjalmar Stolpe revealed 14 graves in the village of Vendel in eastern Sweden. Several of the burials were contained in boats up to 9 metres (30 ft) long and were furnished with … See more

Sutton Hoo derives its name from Old English. Sut combined with tun means the "southern farmstead" or "settlement" and hoh refers to a hill "shaped like a heel spur". The same ending survives in a few other placenames, notably Plymouth Hoe and See more

Neolithic and Bronze Age
There is evidence that Sutton Hoo was occupied during the Neolithic period, c. 3000 BCE, when woodland in the area was cleared by agriculturalists. They dug small pits that contained flint-tempered earthenware pots. … See more

David M. Wilson has remarked that the metal artworks found in the Sutton Hoo graves were "work of the highest quality, not only in English but in European terms".
Sutton Hoo is a cornerstone of the study of art in Britain in the 6th–9th centuries. George Henderson … See more