Sutton Hoo Royal Burial Ground

Sutton Hoo’s burial mounds preserve an exceptional record of Anglo-Saxon funerary practice. In 1938, landowner Edith Pretty employed Basil Brown to investigate several mounds; the following year his work on Mound 1 revealed the impression of a buried ship. Charles Phillips then led the excavation of its rich burial chamber, which contained weapons, precious metalwork and the fragmented helmet that became the site’s most recognisable find. Earlier treasure seekers had damaged several mounds but missed this chamber. Excavations resumed in the 1960s and 1970s, when analysis helped explain why a body had not survived in the acidic soil. Martin Carver’s investigations between 1983 and 1993 revealed further high-status burials, including a young man buried beside his horse. Graves between the mounds also indicated a later execution cemetery. The wider site contains earlier archaeological activity, so its history extends beyond the famous ship burial. Period: Anglo-Saxon burial ground with earlier prehistoric activity Grid reference: TM 28822 48763 Protection: Scheduled monument Source: Historic England, https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1006068 (Open Government Licence). © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Banner photo: "Sutton Hoo, The Royal Burial Ground, Burial Mounds 7 and 6 - geograph.org.uk - 6945293" by Michael Garlick, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0.