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A chance discovery by archaeologists in Southend reveals an Anglo-Saxon tomb crammed with treasures. It's a burial fit for a king – but who could it be?
Time Team follows the investigation into one of the most important archaeological discoveries in recent times as archaeologists from the Museum of London and specialists from across the world search for clues from the spectacular grave goods.
It's a daunting task. The grave is 1,400 years old, the body has disintegrated and there is only a scattering of written records. But through painstaking laboratory work and historical research the archaeologists begin to decipher the ritual significance of the gold, silver and precious finds placed in the burial chamber.
Tony Robinson and Mick Aston piece together the evidence for this programme and eventually manage to name the man the papers dubbed the 'King of Bling'.
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
It seemed like a routine job when the team of diggers arrived at an unprepossessing scrap of land, sandwiched between a busy road and a railway line, in October 2003. The land, at Prittlewell, a suburb of Southend, in Essex, was wanted for a road-widening scheme and a team of archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology Service had been called in to carry out an evaluation of the site. What they found was one of the most important archaeological discoveries ever made in Britain: the burial chamber of an Anglo-Saxon king.
The site, to the east of Prittle Brook, which flows into the Roach estuary about 2.5 kilometres to the north, was in an area that had been inhabited since prehistoric times. Previous discoveries were made here during the construction of the London to Southend railway in the late 19th century and of local housing in the 1920s. These included Roman burials and both male and female Anglo-Saxon graves, which contained a large number of weapons in the male 'warrior' graves, of which there were about 16, and a smaller number of brooches in the female ones.
The primary objective of the archaeological evaluation was to assess the extent of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery, which was not known. The fact that an evaluation trench was placed on the site of the burial chamber turned out to be pure good fortune. As the team leader, Ian Blair, told Time Team, the location of the trench was determined by the fact that the spoil from the evaluation dig couldn't be taken off site. 'If we'd put it where I originally planned to put it we would have missed the chamber grave completely.' It was, he agreed with Tony Robinson, 'complete luck'.
The Prittlewell burial chamber contained more than 140 different items altogether, including some 20 or so vessels of one sort or another. Among them were:
Details of the main finds, together with photos, videos and 3D reconstructions are available at the Museum of London Archaeology Service website:
www.molas.org.uk/pages/siteDetails.asp?siteid=pr03
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
As part of the King of Bling programme, Time Team assembled a team of experts to try to put a name to the Anglo-Saxon chief or king buried at Prittlewell. These included the historian Sam Newton, who was asked to produce a royal family tree from every available archive source (principally the writings of Bede, often referred to as the 'father of English history', the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies) to give list of possible candidates for the burial. He focused on the early 7th century, which is the period indicated for the tomb by the combination of objects found there.
The 7th century is at the very beginning of written English history, however, and records are scarce. So identifying the occupant of the tomb was never going to be an easy task. Even the most revered text of early English history, the work of the 8th-century monk, Bede, was written a century later, in 731. And this contains just one brief entry that mentions the existence of a Saxon king in Essex in the early 7th century. It establishes his family links to the powerful King Aethelbert of Kent:'In the year of our Lord 604, Austin Archbishop of Britain, consecrated two bishops, Mellitus and Justus. He sent Mellitus to preach the gospel to the kingdom of the East Saxons, which is separated from that of Kent by the river Thames, and bounded by the sea to the East, having for its metropolis the city of London, situated on the banks of the said river, which is the general emporium of many nations, constantly resorting to it both by sea and land. Sabert, the nephew of King Ethelbert, by his sister Ricula, reigned there at that time, though he was tributary to his uncle, who, as we before observed, had command over all the English nations as far as the river Humber.'
Sabert's name also appears in the East-Saxon royal genealogies, which show him to be the son of Sledd, who was married to Aethelbert's sister, Ricula, and ruled from 587.
Sabert himself ruled until his death in 616. He had three sons, Saeward, Seaxred and Seaxbald, who were killed in battle against the West Saxons in 623.
Sabert is reputed to have converted to Christianity in 604, but after his death his sons expelled the Christian bishop, Mellitus, as part of a revolt against Kentish domination, and returned to their traditional pagan ways. Sigeberht 'Sanctus', the son of Saeward, who died in the 650s, returned to Christianity, but his death is probably too late for the tomb to be his.
The presence of Christian symbols in the tomb (principally the gold foil crosses and the silver spoon inscribed with a cross) makes Sabert the most likely candidate for the burial. (Sam Newton noted, however, that Sabert's brother, Seaxa, cannot be ruled out as another possibility).
This seems to fit with the way the tomb was arranged. It is likely that the body was placed in a coffin, rather than being on display, with just a few objects accompanying it. These would have included the gold belt buckle and the gold foil crosses, which may have been placed over the eyes. This would be compatible with a Christian burial, while the wider display of objects in the tomb would be closer to what might be expected of a high-status pagan burial. It was possible, said Time Team's experts, that the treatment of the body in the coffin was in deference to Sabert's Christian conversion, while the rest of the tomb was more in keeping with his sons' pagan convictions.
The Salisbury Hoard by Ian Stead and Colin Renfrew (Tempus, 2000) hardback/paperback £17.99/£12.99 ISBN: 0752414046/752414720
A modern Beowulf-like real-life saga of archaeological detection, leading
to a unique prehistoric hoard. The Salisbury Hoard is the most remarkable
hoard of prehistoric metalwork ever found in Britain, but knowledge of
it was almost lost with artefacts scattered by metal-detectorists, dealers,
auction houses and collectors. Thanks, however, to the dogged persistence
of Dr Stead well over half the hoard has now been recovered and acquired
by the British Museum, where it will be displayed as one of the most important
finds of the century.
The Anglo-Saxons edited by James Campbell, Eric John and
Patrick Wormald (Penguin, 1991) paperback £16
Three experts have collaborated to produce this complete, illustrated
guide to the Anglo-Saxons, from their arrival in England to their conversion
to Christianity and defence of Britain against Viking attacks.
An Archaeology of the Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms by C J Arnold (Routledge, new edition 1997) paperback £17.99
The key introduction to Anglo-Saxon studies and the polemics spurring
research in this field. The book deals with the major questions concerning
how Christian medieval England emerged from the chaotic and pagan Dark
Ages.
Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest by H R Loyn (Addison Wesley Longman Higher Education, 1991) paperback £20.99
More than 30 years since its first edition, this book still remains a
standard text on the social and economic development of Anglo-Saxon England
from the first settlements in the fifth and sixth centuries AD to the
immediate aftermath of the Norman Conquest. It draws on surviving legal
and literary sources, as well as the latest findings of archaeologists,
numismatists and art historians.
The Archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England edited by Catherine E Karkoy (Garland Publishing, 1999) hardback £50
This volume offers comprehensive coverage of the archaeology of Anglo-Saxon
England, bringing together essays on specific fields, sites and objects,
and offering the reader a representative range of both traditional and
modern methodologies and interdisciplinary approaches to the subject.
Individual sections deal with settlement archaeology, the archaeology
of church and monastery, death and burial and women and the material record.
The Anglo-Saxon World by Kevin Crossley-Holland (Oxford University Press, 1999) paperback £6.99
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle translated and edited by Michael Swanton (Dent, 1996) paperback £12.99
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is the first continuous national history
of any Western people in their own language. This translation is the most
complete and faithful yet published, with extensive notes referring the
entries to current knowledge as well as to maps and genealogical tables.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle translated and edited by Michael Swanton (Exeter University Press, 1999) £5.99
A basic translation without the notes, maps and tables that accompany
the above.
Kings and Kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England by Barbara Yorke (Routledge, 1990, new edition 1997) £18.99 ISBN: 041516639X
Wessex in the Early Middle Ages by Barbara Yorke (Leicester University Press, 1995) £25 ISBN: 071851856X
The Anglo-Saxons by Barbara Yorke (Sutton Publishing, 1999) £5.99 ISBN: 0750922206
Barbara Yorke's work in assembling the evidence for a Jutish kingdom in south Hampshire featured in a running debate between Time Team's Robin Bush and Anglo-Saxon cemetery expert Helen Geake during Live 2001. The first two of her books listed here cover this subject in depth, while The Anglo-Saxons reviews the main events of the period 400 to 1066 and the legacy left by the Anglo-Saxons.
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
The Prittlewell prince
www.molas.org.uk/pages/siteReports.asp?siteid=pr03§ion;=preface
The Museum of London Archaeology Service website has a special feature on the Prittlewell tomb's discovery and excavation, including details, pictures, videos and 3D reconstructions of some of the main objects.
Treasures of a Saxon King of Essex
www.museumoflondon.org.uk/MOLsite/exhibits/prittlewell/
The Museum of London website to accompany an exhibition of finds from the Prittlewell tomb contains a wealth of information about the discovery. This includes information about many of the objects found in the tomb, photos, 3D reconstructions, movies and an extensive FAQ section answering questions about the site.
The 'Prince of Prittlewell'
www.southend.gov.uk/content.asp?content=3112
Southend-on-Sea Borough Council's website reports on the Prittlewell burial tomb.
My Lord Essex
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba76/feat1.shtml
The Prittlewell chamber tomb has been compared to the richest graves at the famous Sutton Hoo burial ground. In this online article from British Archaeology (May 2004), excavation director Ian Blair, conservator Liz Barham and finds specialist Lyn Blackmore reveal the inside story of a powerful Anglo-Saxon man.
For other websites about Anglo-Saxon England, including Sutton Hoo, see Archaeology websites.