The Excavation of the Sutton Hoo Ship-burial

Extract

The following account of the recent discovery near Woodbridge, Suffolk, requires a word of preliminary explanation. The work was brought to an unhurried close on 26th August 1939, and all the finds and records were removed to London and Cambridge. It had comprised not only the finding and removal of the burial but also the complete excavation and study of the ship in which the burial was placed. The latter part was under the direction of Lieut.-Commander J. K. D. Hutchison of the Science Museum, who, within a few days of the close, had taken his place in the service of the Royal Navy. The finds had, for the most part, only been in the laboratory of the British Museum for a matter of days when they had to be packed up and taken to a place of safety. Under these circumstances it is not possible to give a complete account of the discovery in all its aspects, since much new information is bound to come from the examination of many objects now packed away after only a cursory inspection. The writer therefore aims at giving an objective report of what has come within his experience. With Lieut.-Commander Hutchison's consent he is also offering a layman's account of the ship, the full technical description and discussion of which is a work of the future.