Digging into Sutton Hoo
As part of the Time Team gang (the new kids!), I hopped over to the Anglo-Saxon burial ground at Sutton Hoo to help lead test pitting with a wonderful group of volunteers.
As the first part of a two year partnership between the National Trust and Time Team, a month long dig took place in the grounds of Sutton Hoo during the summer of 2024. The site was split into three main sections:
A top field, close to the museum at Sutton Hoo, where a small excavation area was slowly being trowelled.
A middle field, where a metal detecting survey was taking place
A lower field near the water, where test pits were dug. This was the area I focused on.
The Dig Site: 20 test pits were my focus while there, teaching and leading the digging so that Carenza and Dani could focus on filming. It was excellent teamwork, and necessary teamwork. Behind the scenes organisation like that is what makes Time Team run well!
As much as Sutton Hoo has been excavated, this area has barely been touched, so the test pits focused around anomalies found with geophysics, allowing researchers to get a taste test of what kind of history can be found in the lower field.
Top Finds: There were a few finds like flint flakes in the test pits (as well as nails!), but for me, the big find was the volunteer’s passion. They got to experience what it was like to be a part of time team for two days, digging and learning and making friends. They got to see what it’s like doing media work and eating sandwiches in a tent, and maybe not finding anything at all. They got to experience paperwork for the first time!! The hidden bit of Time Team! And at the end of the day, there were so many hugs and smiles and emails exchanged, it showed me that the experience was a life changer for some of them. One has even decided to pursue archaeology as a career change!
Site Digs: This, I’m going to be honest, was an unbelievable experience for me. In the grounds of Sutton Hoo is Tranmer House, which, in 1938, was the home of Edith Pretty. Pretty is famously known as the woman who employed Basil Brown to dig a burial mound on her property. Brown would go on to uncover the Anglo-Saxon ship burial filled with early medieval treasure, a site of international importance.
Where did I sleep? IN THE HOUSE! I had tea in Edith Pretty’s sitting room and slept in one of the bedrooms. I could open the window and look out over the wondrous burial mounds, exactly as she would have done 86 years prior. One morning, I woke up painfully early, I mean like.. 4 am, and didn’t know what to do! I definitely couldn’t get back to sleep.. So I took advantage of the moment and went out for a stroll among the mounds. A light mist on the ground, the sun just coming up, just me and the birds.. it was magical and calming, almost spiritual. I’ll never forget that morning.
Dig Grub: Not only did I have a magical morning, but a magical evening as well. It was the summer solstice, and myself along with three other Time Teamers got pizza and drinks and brought them back to the mounds. Just as it has been done for thousands of years before us, we feasted, appreciated the mounds, thought about all those who came before us, and watched the sun go down, as the mist began to settle around us.
To learn more: Check out the Time Team Youtube channel, where parts 1 (here) and 2 (here) (you’ll see my face!) are out. More parts coming in the next few weeks!
