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Stolen Treasure at
Sutton Hoo
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- The famous ship
burial at Sutton Hoo was discovered under a mound called 'Mound 1'. There
are about twenty other burial mounds in the same field.
- Mound 1 is the biggest mound. Mound
2 is also very big. The others are smaller.
- Several of these other mounds have
been excavated by archaeologists.
- Sadly, most of them had been robbed
by treasure hunters. This probably happened in Tudor times.
- The robbers didn't do a very good
job. Archaeologists have found small things which they missed.
They also use clever techniques to work out what metals have
been buried in the ground.
- Mound 2 contained another big ship.
The dead person was buried in a wooden chamber underneath the
ship. Only some small gold plaques were left from the treasure.
It might have been the grave of King
Redwald's son, King Erpwald.
- Mound 17 was not robbed. It
contained the graves of a man and his horse. The man wore a
golden buckle inlaid with garnets (red gemstones). The horse
wore a harness with gold decoration. This was like the horse
trappings described in the 'Beowulf'
poem.
- Other mounds contained cremations.
The dead person and their belongings were burnt and placed in a
pot.
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