Rendlesham Revealed

The new exhibition at Sutton Hoo opened this week showcasing the best of what has been learnt about King Raedwald’s royal settlement and landscape 400-800 AD following years of archaeology. Having had the privilege of volunteering on the archaeological dig at Raedwald’s Royal Hall at Rendlesham we were delighted to see some of the important artefacts and their solar symbolism up close and personal.

Highlights included the radiate head brooches that will be explored in the forthcoming ‘Staverton pt 2 – Skyscapes and Landscapes of the Wuffing Kingdom’, the raptor or snake headed escutcheon, and the gilded copper-alloy harness mount fitting with its shining gold finish and central red garnet denoting the all-seeing eye, the rising sun and the surrounding interlace pattern symbolising the ‘power to bind’. A visit is highly recommended.

See ‘A Ritual Landscape Considered’to read for about our research into the evidence of sophisticated geo ritual surveying in the landscape that connects the primary Anglo-Saxon boat burials at Sutton Hoo and Snape with the summer and winter solstices.