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in Saxon Graves at Sutton Hoo and
other Places?
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- Pagan
Saxons believed that, after they died, they would live on in
a different place. This is called an 'After-Life'. Many
different religions have similar beliefs.
- The Saxons
believed they would need lots of belongings in this new life.
The richer and more important the person, the more things they
would need.
- If archaeologists find a grave
containing a body with lots of possessions, they know that the
dead person was a pagan.
- Some bodies are found with coins. These
were to pay the ferryman who would ferry the dead person across
the sea to their afterlife.
- Most dead people would walk to the
ferry. The dead man in Mound 17
at Sutton Hoo had his horse to
carry him.
- The man buried in the big famous
mound at Sutton Hoo had his own ship buried
with him so it could carry him to the afterlife. He still had to
pay for the oarsmen to row him though.
- Some people think that the 40 coins
in his purse were to pay for
40 oarsmen. The two small gold bars were to pay the pilot and
the steersman.
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