Before Sutton Hoo: The Prehistoric Remains and Early Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Tranmer House, Bromeswell, Suffolk

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With contributions by Barry Ager, Sue Anderson, Alexandra Baldwin, Sarah Bates, Julie M. Bond, Hayley Bullock, Diana Briscoe, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Birte Brugmann, Caroline Cartwright, Gordon Cook, John Crowther, Gillian M. Cruise, Angela C. Evans, Val Fryer,W. Derek Hamilton, Jamie Hood, Madeleine Hummler, Sue La Niece, Janet Lang, Peter D. Marshall, Jacqueline I. McKinley, Richard I. Macphail, Antony R.R. Mustchin, Sarahi Naidorf, Sarah Percival, Ian Riddler, Stefan Röhrs, Fleur Shearman, Nicola Trzaska-Nartowski, Penelope Walton Rogers, Quanyu Wang and Susan Youngs. Principal illustrators: Christopher J. R. Fern, Sue Holden and Kate Morton. In 2000, a second early Anglo-Saxon cemetery was found at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, 500m north of the famous royal burial-ground. The new burial-ground probably began as a "folk" cemetery where the rites of cremation and inhumation were practiced. Nevertheless, the findings suggest a wealthy local population in the period just prior to the founding of the mound cemetery at Sutton Hoo. A small Bronze Age barrow and part of an Iron Age field system were recorded. It is argued that these earthworks survived to at least the time of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery, and that they influenced its location and layout. Just over thirty early Anglo-Saxon graves were recorded, including thirteen weapon-burials. Grave-goods from the inhumation burials and a programme of radiocarbon dates for the cremation burials indicate that the majority date to the second half of the 6th century just as the earliest, ritually-related funerals started at Sutton Hoo. Ultimately, this raises the possibility of an ancestral connection between the buried populations of the two cemeteries. Thus, the findings present a key new episode for our understanding of the origins of Sutton Hoo, and potentially therefore of the kingdom of East Anglia and its dynasty. List of Plates vi List of Figures vii List of Tables ix List of Contributors x Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xii Summary xii Chapter 1. Introduction and Background 1 Chapter 2. Prehistoric Remains 13 Chapter 3. Catalogue of Anglo-Saxon Graves and Associated Features 41 Chapter 4. Anglo-Saxon Material Culture 101 Chapter 5. Human, Animal and Environmental Remains 147 Chapter 6. North Field 173 Chapter 7. Anglo-Saxon Chronology 181 Chapter 8. Anglo-Saxon Cemetery and Burial Rites 193 Chapter 9. "Before Elite": Tranmer House in Context 217 Bibliography 222 Index, by Sue Vaughan 238