Looking back at the use of “sophistication” in this post, as well as “worldly” and “complex”, it would have been more accurate to focus on how the details and symbols in the Anglo-Saxon art and the Anglo-Saxons’ connections to various parts of the world disprove the public misconception that the Anglo-Saxons were a “crude” people.ġ964 Rethinking the Concept “Primitive”. By classifying things as either “sophisticated” or “primitive”, we completely ignore the meanings and importance of the past cultures. This connotation spurred an unconscious and biased comparison between different cultures and societies through the classification of “primitive” or “civilized”. However, these practices equated “primitive” with “inferior” (Francis 1964). In past anthropological and archaeological works, anthropologists used the idea of civilization as a means of classification, with barbarism, savagery, and civilization depicted as stages in cultural evolution. Using words like “sophisticated” to describe past cultures raises the culture in question to a biased standard, implying that other cultures aren’t as “civilized” or “sophisticated” and therefore inferior. This entry was posted in Fall 2019 by lraines. 2019,Ģ017 “ The Ghostly Treasure Ship of Sutton Hoo.” Thames & Hudson, New York.Ģ018 “Sutton Hoo Ship Bural and Famous Helmet That Could Belong To Raedwald, King Of All Kings Of Britain”. 2019,Ģ019 “ Revisiting Sutton Hoo, Britain’s Mythical Burial Ground.” ed. The artifacts emphasize the significance of burying respected or loved figures with valuable items that will travel with them as they move to the afterlife.Īdditional information about Sutton Hoo from the National Trust:Ībout the connection between Sutton Hoo and the epic Beowulf:Ģ019 “British Museum – Who was buried at Sutton Hoo?”. The burial also displays the importance of grave goods and afterlife in this society’s beliefs. The sophistication and intricacy of the artifacts found in the burial disprove these misconceptions about the Anglo-Saxons, showing they were more complex and worldly than people gave them credit for. The astonishing metalwork helmet, made of iron and covered with panels depicting various scenes.īefore the burial’s discovery, a common belief about Anglo-Saxons depicted them as “crude folk… who lived crude lives and left little of value behind” (Knight 2019). The diversity in places of origin of these items display the extensive trade connections that the Anglo-Saxons had with other European communities in the ancient world.įigure 2. The goods originated from diverse places for example, coins from Merovingian France and a silver dish from Constantinople were found among the goods (Knight 2019). The most famous item found is the iconic metalwork helmet (Figure 2). These 263 artifacts formed an image of beauty and sophistication. In the largest mound, Brown found an array of impressive relics. The top theory is that the burial belongs to King Rædwald of East Anglia, who died in 624 AD (Walker 2017). The big mystery surrounds the individual’s identity. Tests done on the soil revealed traces of residual phosphate, a chemical that a body leaves behind when it decomposes (British Museum 2010). However, even when there are no physical remnants, evidence of human remains can still persist (Renfrew 2018). So, who was buried at Sutton Hoo? Like the boat, the body that was buried in the mound dissolved due to the soil’s acidity (Walker 2017). The remains of the grand burial ship as they are excavated from the largest mound. Although the tangible remains of the ship had deteriorated, the ship left an intricate imprint (Knight 2019) the impression of the ship shaped a picture of what the ship looked like (Figure 1), despite the absence of physical remains.įigure 1. Therefore, the wooden ribs of the ship rotted away over the centuries. The soil turned acidic, dissolving any organic remains. The ship functioned as a water-repellent body, causing any water that seeped through the soil to build up. Unfortunately, not everything buried there 1,400 years ago still remained. At more than twenty-seven meters, the Anglo-Saxon rowing boat had been hauled up from the river and buried on land (Knight 2019). He eventually uncovered the remains of a large ship (Walker 2017).
In 1939, Brown excavated the largest mound at Sutton Hoo. This archaeological site in England provides a bountiful supply of information about Anglo-Saxon society.
#HELM OF RAEDWALD H FULL#
Sutton Hoo is home to a magnificent burial dating back to seventh-century AD, the grave of an Anglo-Saxon king who was buried with a ship full of grave goods (Knight 2019). When Edith Pretty hired archaeologist Basil Brown in 1937 to excavate the large mounds on her property, they discovered Europe’s richest ship burial to date.