Crossing Over - a Saxon tomb set for a Christian King

Submitted by nicoladidsbury on Friday, 11 March 2005 Page Views: 5519

**Sutton Hoo** submitted by ermine : Replica of Royal ship burial (Vote or comment on this photo)

An archaeological excavation by the Museum of London Archaeology Service at Priory Crescent, Prittlewell, Essex in autumn 2003 unearthed a 7th century grave that is perhaps the most spectacular discovery of its kind made during the past 50 years. An article in the March 2005 edition of the National Geographic magazine makes the suggestion that the Saxon King may have been Saeberht, the first East Saxon king to convert to Christianity and was possibly a contemporary of the pagan king buried 45 miles northeast at Sutton Hoo.

The range and combination of objects and how they were placed in the grave to create a setting for the dead king is unique. Weapons, equipment for feasting and personal possessions were found. The coffin contained items that had been placed on the body as part of the burial ritual. These included two small gold foil crosses, two gold coins and a gold belt buckle. The survival of the chamber and its contents is due to the mound above the grave collapsing into the open chamber as the roof timbers decayed. However, the high acidity of the sand filling the burial chamber has meant that no trace of a body survived. The objects in the grave such as the sword suggest it was almost certainly that of a man. The contents of the burial chamber, down to the 'king's' shoe buckles were still in place.
Source heritagemp.com

National Geographic Magazine reports that "During the seventh century AD much of Britian was divided into small kingdoms, and Christian missionaries sent from Rome were converting the rulers of these kingdoms with some success. The Prittlewell artifacts suggest a royal who straddled the two worlds, pagan and Christian, carrying elements from both to the grave."

Most of the goods were traditional Saxon items, such as gaming pieces and drinking horns, but a silver spoon etched with a cross, a flagon with an image of a saint, and the gold-foil crosses point to a Christian conversion.

Note: The Saxon period is later than our normal coverage, but we do feature selected sites from the 'Dark Ages'

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