<< Other Photo Pages >> Snape Anglo-Saxon Cemetery - Barrow Cemetery in England in Suffolk
Submitted by Anne T on Friday, 13 March 2026 Page Views: 2174
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Snape Anglo-Saxon CemeteryCountry: England
NOTE: This site is 5.7 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Suffolk Type: Barrow Cemetery
Nearest Town: Aldeburgh Nearest Village: Snape
Map Ref: TM402593
Latitude: 52.179616N Longitude: 1.511981E
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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External Links:
The cemetery originally comprised 9-10 barrow mounds straddling what is now the A1094 road, with an estimated 1,200 cremation burials across the full extent.
The ship burial was excavated in 1862-63 by Septimus Davidson and Nicholas Fenwick Hele. They found a clinker-built vessel approximately 15m long, identified by hundreds of iron rivets laid out in the sand. Grave goods included the Snape Ring — a gold ring set with a Roman onyx intaglio of Bonus Eventus — and a glass claw beaker, both now in the British Museum. The ship burial dates to approximately 550-575 CE
Systematic excavations by William Filmer-Sankey (1985-92), prompted by Martin Carver's new work at Sutton Hoo, revealed 17 cremation and 21 inhumation burials including a smaller boat burial (Grave 47) containing a pattern-welded sword, spears, shield, wooden bucket and a horse head wearing harness placed upright at the bow. The cemetery is understood as part of the wider landscape of elite East Anglian burial that includes Sutton Hoo, 17km to the south-west.
Of the original barrow mounds, only one survives — a low mound at the south-west corner of the A1094/Priory Road junction, fenced and overgrown. The ship burial mound would originally have been visible from the sea, over 7km away.
With many thanks to Prof. Howard MR Williams for the photos and information.
References:
Archaeology Data Service, Filmer-Sankey, W. and Pestell, (2001) "Snape Anglo-Saxon Cemetery: Excavations and Surveys 1824-1992, East Anglian Archaeology Report No. 95" (summary only);
East Anglian Archaeology Report no. 95, "EAA 95, 2001: Snape Anglo-Saxon Cemetery: Excavations and Surveys 1824–1992, by William Filmer-Sankey and Tim Pestell" (54mb pdf download available);
Suffolk Heritage Explorer, "Monument MSF2391, Monument record SNP 007 - Tumulii and Saxon mixed inhumation and cremation cemetery. (Sax)";
Heritage Suffolk, "Anglo-Saxon Boat burial, Snape, 2020"; and
Heritage Suffolk, "Snape Anglo-Saxon objects on display at West Stow until summer 2026."
Information for Visitors:
Condition: most barrows ploughed out; one mound survives, overgrown with brambles
Ambience: heathland/Sandlings setting, but A1094 road cuts through the cemetery
Access: visible from roadside at A1094/Priory Road junction; footpath from Snape Church across Common; no parking at site
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