Examines what the Sutton Hoo ship-burial site reveals about early England, describes the site's treasures and mysteries, and recounts the events surrounding its discovery.

`The Sutton Hoo `princely' burials play a pivotal role in any modern discussion of Germanic kingship.'EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE The age of Sutton Hoo runs from the fifth to the eighth century AD - a dark and difficult age, where hard evidenceis rare, but glittering and richly varied. Myths, king-lists, place-names, sagas, palaces, belt-buckles, middens and graves are all grist to the archaeologist's mill. This book celebrates the anniversary of the discovery of that most famous burial at Sutton Hoo. Fifty years ago this great treasure, now in the British Museum, was unearthed from the centre of a ninety-foot-long ship buried on remote Suffolk heathland. Included in this volume are 23 wide-ranging essays on the Age of Sutton Hoo and director Martin Carver's summary of the latest excavations, which represent the current state of knowledge about this extraordinary site. That it still has secrets to reveal is shown by the last-minute discovery of a striking burial of a young noble with his horse and grave goods.M.O.H. CARVER is Professor of Archaeology at York University, and Director of the Sutton Hoo Research Project.

A definitive account of Sutton Hoo, its discovery, history and famed treasure.

"This book explains how it [the Sutton Hoo hemlet] was discovered together with other treasures buried in a ship at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, by the archeologist Basil Brown. He was employed by the owner of estate ... who generously donated the whole find to the British Museum."--Cover verso.

The objects unearthed in 1939 from an Anglo-Saxon ship-burial at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, rank among the most splendid treasures in the collection of the British Museum. Bringing together fine craftsmanship from England, Germany, Scandinavia, Alexandria and far Byzantium, the spectacular finds included gold and garnet jewellery, silverware, drinking vessels with silver-gilt fittings, a lyre and a sceptre, as well as the iconic helmet, all deliberately buried in the early seventh century as grave-goods for an important, though unidentified, warrior. The Sutton Hoo ship-burial was one of the most exciting discoveries ever made in British archaeology. This beautifully designed introduction to the treasure details the most significant pieces contained within it and explores the circumstances of its burial, discovery and excavation, as well as its lasting legacy and fame.