Time Team to return to dig at Sutton Hoo National Trust site

Archaeologists from Time Team are to return to Sutton Hoo for a second dig next year, after unearthing missing pieces of a 6th century Byzantine bucket during a first excavation earlier this year.

This summer’s four-week dig was carried out near the visitor centre at the Suffolk site, away from the famous Anglo-Saxon ship burial that was discovered in 1939.

Fragments of a 1,400-year-old Greek inscribed bucket, known as the Bromeswell Bucket, were first uncovered at Sutton Hoo in 1986, with further pieces found in 2012.

It was probably made in the eastern Mediterranean region in the 6th century, about 100 years before the ship and its extraordinary treasure was put to rest.

As well as pieces of the bucket, several Anglo-Saxon graves were discovered this year.

The National Trust said archaeologists from Time Team would return from 19 May 2025 for another four-week dig.

Angus Wainwright, a regional archaeologist for the National Trust, said: “The first phase of the project, which took place in June, was the most intensive period of excavation Sutton Hoo has seen since the early 2000s.

“It was a really exciting moment for us and ended on a high, with the discovery of missing fragments of the Bromeswell Bucket, which originated from the Byzantine empire in the 6th century.

“The majority of these pieces were lifted out in one block and removed to an undisclosed location in York, where they are currently being X-rayed and excavated, along with some other interesting finds that were discovered in the process.”

A number of human cremations were also discovered during this latest excavation, indicating the burial ground that was discovered in Garden Field in 2000 stretches further than previously thought.

The burial ground revealed 13 cremations and nine burials, and is believed to predate the Royal Burial Ground.

It is likely to be the final resting place of residents of low to relatively high-status families, possibly including the grandparents and great-grandparents of those laid to rest at the Royal Burial Ground many years later.

These newly discovered cremations are also being processed at the specialist facility in York, where the cremated bones will be analysed to try and age and sex the person, as well as carbon date the burial.

It is hoped that the second dig next year will uncover more about the prehistory of Sutton Hoo and gain a better understanding of the second cemetery in Garden Field.

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