The Sutton Hoo ship burial

by Angela Care Evans

Cover has very minor shelf wear. Fold-outs are crisp and excellent, but their presence might be the cause of slight creasing on some pages. Ships fast from California.

Genres: History, Archaeology, Nonfiction, Anglo Saxon, Art

Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

Reviews

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having been republished several times over the years, The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial by Angela Care Evans is all the regular reader needs to discover the details surrounding the Sutton Hoo digs. It details the finds and the dig in an approachable way without getting dragged down by the science or expanding too much into tangents ie the background of each discovery are explored but only in a few paragraphs, not in whole 'in depth' chapters.
The book may be unfussy, but it is an expert blow by blow that anybody, from specialist to amateur, can reach for as a resource book.

My only problem with the book, which is expressed by 4 stars instead of 5, is the black and white images of some of the artefacts. What is so stunning about most of the finds is the dazzling beauty of their precious metals and semi precious stones. A black and white image gives you the design, but it does nothing to trasmit to the reader the true and marvelous beauty of the items. Their beauty being one of the reasons they ended up in that ship burial with this Lord/King of Anglo-Saxons in the first place.
That was the only message put into that burial that could speak for itself over a thousand years later. Over the vast distance from their time to ours their message has persisted. "This is how great our lord" is spoken through the visual wonder of those items.
The reader needs to relate to that better via colour plates.

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but comprehensive study of the Sutton Hoo burial. This was written close to when excavations were still taking place in the 1960s, so some of the knowledge has been superceded since then (there's unsurity here whether there was a body in the barrow at all, let alone whether it was King Redwald), but this still makes for very interesting reading.

The main part of the text is split into descriptions of each of the finds, and very in depth they are too. Then there are short sections on the coinage, the ship itself, Swedish influence, the East Anglian dynasty, and a detailed note section and bibliography.

Best of all are the plates and figures, which mix colour and black and white photography of the individual finds with fold-out drawings, illustrations and even a few photos of the excavation.

I found that every aspect of the ship-burial was covered to my satisfaction, and the various theories put forward - how the ship was brought inland, the significance of the forty coins - were entertaining too. A brief but enlightening read.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, and with some fascinating illustrations, some in color.

[Petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of details, nice photographs and interesting descriptions - a beautiful representation of the Sutton Hoo burial!

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story of the most remarkable archeological find ever discovered in Britain. Incredible.
Highly informative and pretty well laid out. Would have been nice to have a few more colour photographs and if I was to level any criticism at it, then the paragraphing could have been slightly better. It would have been nice to have a bit more of a catalogue feel, and have the pictures and text slightly better connected.
On the whole an excellent, informative read and a superb recounting of the entire process (over several decades) of an archaeological dig.
On a personal note, as a jeweller myself, I have to say that the quality of the workmanship on the items found is astonishing, it's hard to believe it was made so long ago.

[Liz Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this was the 1986 publication for the British Museum it was a fascinating book. It was easy to read , Plenty of photos , maps and diagrams and all the information on the successive digs . The burial mound at Taplow Berks had similar finds and is interesting to look into as well. I am going to the British Museum to see the Sutton Hoo treasures for myself. I would like to see if there are any more up to date finds on the Sutton Hoo treasures and site using the latest technology available to us today.

[M F]

I don't know how effective this is as a revision tactic but I'm hoping that having read this I'll be in a slightly better position should anything from Sutton Hoo come up in my Anglo-Saxon History exam, which it inevitably will. Of course, by then I'll have forgotten all the details, but maybe something will have stuck.