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Mysterious Objects
at Sutton Hoo.
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- There were two important and very
unusual objects,
leaning up against the wall at the head of the burial chamber in
the ship burial at Sutton
Hoo. No-one really knows what they are. They
might be symbolic objects showing the importance of the person
buried there.
- The first object looks a bit like
a hat-stand. It is a long iron rod, 172 cm long. At the top,
small rods form a sort of basket, with a grille as a lid.
- What do you think it might be?
- Some historians think it was a
standard, like those which the Romans used to carry in front
of their armies.
- Some historians think that
flowers could have been put in the 'basket'.
- The writer, Bede, says that King
Edwin of Northumbria used
something like this. He mentions a
particular type of standard called a 'tufa,' but no-one
knows what this looked like.
- The second object was a highly
decorated whetstone. A whetstone is what you sharpen the blades
of swords or knives on. This one had not been used.
- There are little faces carved
at the top and bottom of the stone.
- At one end, it has a bronze
ring with a tiny deer on top.
- Nothing like it has been found
anywhere in the World.
- What do you think it might be?
- Most historians think it acted
as a 'sceptre'. This is a hand-held rod showing that the
owner was a king or queen.
- Several 17th century sceptres are kept in the
British Crown Jewels today.
- There may have been a third object
of power. A group of small golden decorative objects may have
been mounted on an ivory staff. This has rotted away. One plaque
was decorated with a wolf.
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