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Significant Suffolk Anglo-Saxon archaeology to be celebrated at event
Featured image: Cruciform brooch found at Rendlesham Rendlesham Revealed, the Suffolk community archaeology project which uncovered a 1,400 year-old royal settlement of the East Anglian Kings in the Deben Valley, is being celebrated at a free event on 16 May at the Corn Exchange in Ipswich. The event is open to the public from 11am…
Suffolk’s Unforgettable Garden Story
Featured Image: Crows Hall, Debenham (© Historic England Archive) ‘Suffolk’s Unforgettable Garden Story’ is a project working with volunteers to identify historic sites to be included on the National Heritage List for England, swelling the number in Suffolk from 23 to 35. Patience Shone, one of the volunteer coordinators on the project, is our guest…
Did you dig with the Sutton Hoo Research Project 1983-1992?
Featured Image: Excavations at Sutton Hoo (© Lindsay Lee via:http://suttonhoo.org/images/nggallery/page/3) This year is the 40th anniversary of the Sutton Hoo Society and they want to hear from anyone who helped excavate or were involved with the Sutton Hoo excavations between 1983 to 1992, so they can capture all the stories. There were several hundred people…
Stanley West Remembered
Featured Image: Stanley West at West Stow Anglo Saxon Village © SCCAS Dr Stanley West, who was pivotal in the creation of the archaeological units in Suffolk and Norfolk, passed away earlier this year. He was director of the Suffolk Archaeological Unit from 1974-1991 which became part of the Planning Department. Dr West led the…
Rendlesham behind the scenes: metalworking evidence from Rendlesham 2023
Featured image: Volunteers finding metalworking waste at the excavations Eleanor Blakelock is the Rendlesham Revealed project archaeometallurgist, who specialises in investigating metalworking assemblages from the past. She has completed the initial analysis of the artefacts excavated from Rendlesham in 2023. Eleanor is our guest writer this week to tell us more. Although a long and…
Rendlesham behind the scenes: Glass objects from Rendlesham 2022-2023
Featured image: Glass vessel fragment (SF 129) found in the refuse disposal area excavated in 2022 Dr Rose Broadley is the Rendlesham Revealed project specialist for glass artefacts and has completed the initial analysis of the glass excavated from Rendlesham in 2022 and 2023. Rose is our guest writer this week to tell us more.…
Our Favourite Archaeology in Suffolk – Haughley House.
Featured Image: Haughley House © Haughley House We have recently welcomed Jennifer to the Suffolk Finds Recording Team as a Finds Liaison Officer, so we asked her to share with us her favourite archaeological site in Suffolk. Her role is to record archaeological objects found by members of the public onto the Portable Antiquities Scheme…
Rendlesham behind the scenes: metal objects from Rendlesham 2023
Featured image: early medieval pin from Rendlesham Faye Minter is the Rendlesham Revealed project specialist for metal objects and has completed the initial analysis of the artefacts excavated from Rendlesham in 2023. Faye is our guest writer this week to tell us more. 110 metal small finds were recovered from across the three trenches excavated…
Rendlesham behind the scenes: Feasts and beasts – Recent zooarchaeological discoveries at Rendlesham
Featured image: animal bone Following the excavations at Rendlesham last year, the specialists have been analysing the material and we are now seeing the results. Matilda Holmes, Archaeozoologist, has examined the animal bone excavated from Rendlesham in 2022 and 2023. Matilda is our guest writer this week to tell us more. Feasting The last two…
Rendlesham behind the scenes: the final year of post-excavation processing
Featured image: Volunteers examining soil samples for artefacts and ecofacts, using a magnet to pick out hammerscale Since October 2023, the post-excavation work has been ongoing, following the end of the third and final season of excavation at Rendlesham, as part of our community archaeology project Rendlesham Revealed A group of volunteers have been processing…
Rendlesham Revealed Virtual Online Exhibition
A brand new virtual online tour of the popular exhibition Rendlesham Revealed: The Heart of a Kingdom AD 400-800, previously on display last year at National Trust’s Sutton Hoo, is now available online for everyone to explore. This virtual tour gives a 360° experience to digitally walk around the exhibition, view the exhibits and artefacts,…
1,400-year-old Anglo-Saxon artefacts now on display in West Suffolk
Featured image: Gold and garnet weaponry fittings on display at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village and Museum. © Suffolk County Council Now Open! Rendlesham Revealed: The Heart of A Kingdom AD 400-800 is on display at the West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village and Museum 25th January – 23rd July 2023. Archaeological finds from a popular exhibition at…
Fieldwalking Survey at Rendlesham 2023
Featured image: Featured image: fieldwalking with volunteers Last year, in September 2023, fieldwalking took place at Rendlesham with volunteers as part of the Rendlesham Revealed community archaeology project. Tom Cox, a PhD student from University of East Anglia who led the fieldwalking, is our guest writer to share the results. Fieldwalking at Rendlesham took place…
1,400-year-old temple discovered at Suffolk royal settlement
Featured image: Drone photograph of the excavations at Rendlesham in 2023, showing the archaeological remains, including the probable temple or cult house (left hand side) and boundary ditch (centre). (© Suffolk County Council; photo by Jim Pullen) A rare, possible pre-Christian temple from the time of the East Anglian Kings, has been found at Rendlesham,…
Our Favourite Archaeology in Suffolk – The Garboldisham Macehead.
Featured Image: Garboldisham Macehead © Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society We have recently welcomed Vincent to the SCCAS team, so we asked him to share with us his favourite archaeological site or favourite find in Suffolk. This week Vincent tells us more about the Garboldisham Macehead. Vincent is an archaeological officer, with a background in…
Ask the Curator: The Importance of Rendlesham
Featured image: Artist’s impression of how the royal compound at Rendlesham may have looked c. AD 650. In the foreground are illustrations of large timber halls, where the King and more important members of his retinue would have stayed. When the King was in residence the empty fields would have been taken over by temporary…
The Final Week at the Rendlesham Excavations 2023 (Week 7)
Featured image: Volunteers excavating and recording the archaeology (foreground) and cleaning the trench (background) (taken by Graham Allen) During the final week of the Rendlesham Revealed excavations the volunteers finished digging and recording the archaeological features as well as cleaning the trenches ready for the final drone photographs. Several new discoveries were made including another…
The Excavations at Rendlesham 2023 (Week 6)
Featured image: volunteer sorting the objects by material type and marking the context number on to the animal bone. (taken by Graham Allen). In week 6, many of the features have been excavated and are now being recorded with the GPS for the post-excavation plan. Volunteers have also been cracking on with the finds processing…
The Excavations at Rendlesham 2023 (Week 5)
Featured image: Volunteer from Rendlesham Primary School finding pottery while excavating a sunken featured building (taken by Graham Allen). In week 5, the team focused on recording and continuing to excavate the archaeological remains. This week the Year 5 class from Rendlesham Primary School and clients from Suffolk Mind and Men’s Advice and Recovery Support…
Ask the Curator: Brooches from Rendlesham
Featured image: Re-enactor wearing replica cruciform brooches © Wulfheodenas and Lindsey Kerr For the next article in the “Ask the Curator” series, we are taking a closer look at some of the brooches that are on display in the Rendlesham Revealed exhibition open at National Trust Sutton Hoo until 29th October 2023. What makes these…
The Excavations at Rendlesham 2023 (Week 4)
Featured image: Volunteers from Eyke Primary School taking environmental samples from a pit with Faye Minter (Archaeology Archives and Projects Manager, Suffolk County Council). In week 4, the excavation is progressing and finds processing has started. We have also welcomed to site the Year 4 class from Eyke Primary School and clients from Suffolk Mind.…
The Excavations at Rendlesham 2023 (Week 3)
Featured image: Volunteers excavating the boundary ditch in Trench 16, with guidance from Linzi Everett, Senior Project Officer at Cotswold Archaeology. In week 3, we welcomed a new group of volunteers to the excavations at Rendlesham. It was a very hot week, but our volunteers put in a sterling effort despite the heat and work…
The Excavations at Rendlesham 2023 (Week 2)
Featured image: volunteers excavating the boundary ditch. In week two, we have welcomed our first volunteers to site, including 13 young people from Suffolk Family Carers who joined us for a three-day residential. Volunteers began by cleaning the trenches with hoes so that the archaeological features could be clearly seen before we began to excavate.…
Ask the Curator: The Great Hall at Rendlesham
Featured image: the foundations of the hall after excavation at Rendlesham. For the next instalment in the “Ask the Curator” series, we are exploring the remains of the great hall uncovered in Summer 2022 as part of the Rendlesham Revealed community excavations. How big was the hall? How was it built? What would it have…
Returning to The Excavations at Rendlesham 2023 (Week 1)
Featured image: drone photograph of the machine starting to open the largest trench (taken by Jim Pullen/Geoff Lunn) We’re back at Rendlesham for the third and final season of excavations, where we are investigating the Anglo-Saxon settlement, as part of the Rendlesham Revealed community archaeology project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This year,…
Our Favourite Archaeology in Suffolk – Southwold Pier
Featured Image: Southwold Pier © Visit Suffolk We have recently welcomed Sam to the SCCAS team, so we asked him to share with us his favourite archaeological site in Suffolk. Sam has a background in education and archaeological archiving. Within his new role as Archaeological Officer (Archives), Sam will aid in curating the county’s archaeological…
Ask the Curator: Beads and Pendant from Rendlesham
Featured image: gold and garnet bead. For the next article in the “Ask the Curator” series, we are taking a closer look at some of the beads and pendants that are on display in the Rendlesham Revealed exhibition open at National Trust Sutton Hoo until 29th October 2023. Various items of jewellery have been found…
PAWS-itivity – Local artist’s sculpture inspired by Anglo-Saxon objects
Featured image: Labrador dog sculpture “Digby” painted by local artist inspired by Anglo-Saxon objects. Suffolk Libraries are running their biggest ever fundraising campaign, which will see 40 different Labrador dog sculptures all painted by Suffolk artists in each of the libraries over the summer. One of these sculptures has been designed by Jennifer Phillips who…
Ask the Curator: Harness Mount from Rendlesham
Featured image: harness mount from Rendlesham, on display in the Rendlesham Revealed exhibition (© Robin Pattinson/ Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service/ National Trust). For the next article in the “Ask the Curator” series, we are taking a closer look at a harness mount, that is on display in the Rendlesham Revealed exhibition open at National…
Our Favourite Archaeology in Suffolk – All Saints Church, Eyke
Featured Image: All Saints Church, Eyke © Roger Miller / All Saints Church, Eyke / CC BY-SA 2.0 We have recently welcomed Karen to the SCCAS team, so we asked her to share with us her favourite archaeological site in Suffolk. Karen has a background in education. Within her new role as project delivery officer, Karen will be helping…
Ask the Curator: Rendlesham and Sutton Hoo
Featured image: the royal burial ground at Sutton Hoo (© National Trust Sutton Hoo) What is the relationship between the Anglo-Saxon royal settlement at Rendlesham and the princely burial grounds at Sutton Hoo? To answer this question as part of the “Ask the Curator” series is guest writer Professor Christopher Scull, the principle academic advisor…
Our Favourite Archaeology in Suffolk – Food Museum, Stowmarket
Featured Image: Abbots Hall. Built 1709 with 19th and 20th century additions © Food Museum We have recently welcomed Laura to the SCCAS team, so we asked her to share with us her favourite archaeological site in Suffolk. Laura has joined the Suffolk Finds Recording Team as a Finds Liaison Assistant. Her role is to assist…
Ask the Curator: Environment and the river at Rendlesham
Featured image: Drone photograph of the Anglo-Saxon royal settlement at Rendlesham under excavation in 2022, showing the river valley landscape in the background (© Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service, taken by Jim Pullen) What was the environment at Rendlesham like in the past? Was the River Deben navigable from the sea up to Rendlesham in…
Being Anglo-Saxon: Loading and Firing the replica Ipswich ware kiln
Featured image: Replica Ipswich Ware pots in Kiln ready for firing © Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service. We have finally returned to Hands on Heritage experimental archaeology site with a group of volunteers and their replica pots, to load and fire the replica Ipswich ware kiln, as part of the Rendlesham Revealed project. After building…
“Ipswich ware” pottery made for the first time in over 1,000 years
Featured image: Replica Ipswich Ware pots in Kiln after firing © Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service. “Ipswich ware” jars and pots, first made 1,400 years ago in Suffolk’s county town, are being fired again in a replica Anglo-Saxon kiln thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This new experimental archaeology project is being…
Walpole Old Chapel
Featured image: Exterior of Walpole Old Chapel. –(© Miriam Stead). Miriam Stead, our guest writer, introduces Walpole Old Chapel. At first glance, Walpole Old Chapel appears to be an attractive 16th century Suffolk farmhouse in a lovely agricultural setting. However, a closer look reveals its story. A non-conformist meeting house was created from this domestic…
Ask the Curator: Coinage at Rendlesham
Featured image: Coins on display in the Rendlesham Revealed exhibition at Sutton Hoo (© Robin Pattinson/ Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service/ National Trust) In this instalment of our “Ask the Curator” series, we are focusing on the coins found at Rendlesham, many of which are on display in the new Rendlesham Revealed exhibition at National…
Ask the Curator: Who was living at Rendlesham?
Featured image: ‘Kendra the Anglo-Saxon Forager’ a volunteer wearing replica Anglo-Saxon clothes and accessories (© Suffolk County Council, taken by Katie Everard). For the third instalment of our “Ask the Curator” series, discover more about the development of the settlement, who was living at Rendlesham and aspects of their daily life such as what they…
Rickinghall’s Famous Resident Honoured with Blue Plaque
Featured image: Members of Quatrefoil, the small team of local history enthusiasts, who organised the blue plaque (L to R: Graham Clayton, Di Maywhort, Sue Hardy, Sarah Doig, Sue Emerson, Mike Doig, Sally Green, Jean Sheehan). –(© Quatrefoil). On Monday 8th May, a blue plaque was mounted on the house in Rickinghall, Suffolk where Basil…
Ask the Curator: Pyramid mounts at Rendlesham
Featured image: three pyramid mount sword scabbard fittings from Rendlesham on display in the Rendlesham Revealed exhibition at Sutton Hoo, on loan from Ipswich Museum (© Suffolk County Council). For the second article in our new series “Ask the Curator”, we are taking a closer look at the Pyramid Mounts, a type of sword fitting,…
Ask the Curator: How have archaeologists revealed Anglo-Saxon Rendlesham?
Featured image: archaeological excavations at Rendlesham in 2022 This new series “Ask the Curator” takes a deep dive into the research that has uncovered Anglo-Saxon Rendlesham, complementing the opening of the new Rendlesham Revealed exhibition at National Trust Sutton Hoo running until 29th October 2023. The first of this series starts at the beginning of…
Fieldwalking Survey at Rendlesham 2022
Featured image: fieldwalking with volunteers Last summer, fieldwalking took place at Rendlesham, with volunteers from local primary schools and young people from Suffolk Family Carers, as part of the Rendlesham Revealed project. Tom Cox, a PhD student from University of East Anglia, who helped deliver the fieldwalking is our guest writer this week to tell…
Rendlesham behind the scenes: Post-Excavation; a progress update
Featured image: volunteers finishing to process the last of the soil samples to extract finds from the residues The post-excavation processing is drawing to an end. Over the past 6 months, more than 80 volunteers have been hard at work processing all the material from last summer’s Rendlesham Revealed excavations, with training and support from…
New exhibition at Sutton Hoo telling the story of Anglo-Saxon Rendlesham
Featured image: viewing the exhibition © Suffolk County Council Now Open! Rendlesham Revealed: The Heart of A Kingdom AD 400-800 is a new exhibition now open at the National Trust’s Sutton Hoo 23rd March – 29th October 2023. The exhibition takes visitors on a 400-year journey to reveal how the Anglo-Saxon royal settlement at Rendlesham…
Being Anglo-Saxon: Building the replica Ipswich ware kiln
Featured image: Volunteers building the replica Ipswich ware kiln Here is another instalment of the Being Anglo-Saxon series, following the progress of the Rendlesham Revealed experimental archaeology kiln. Faye Minter tells us all about the building of the kiln structure. In summer 2022, a small group of volunteers started building the structure of the kiln,…
Geophysics training at Lackford, Brecks Fen Edge and Rivers Project.
Featured image: Volunteer conducting a geophysical survey with multi sensor array cart system (MACS) at Lackford (© Suffolk County Council) Last autumn a geophysical survey was carried out over Suffolk Wildlife Trust land at Lackford in the Lark valley, as part of the Brecks Fen Edge and Rivers project . The fields surveyed were known to…
Snape Anglo-Saxon Sword on display in Moyse’s Hall Museum
Featured Image: Sword from Snape boat burial (Grave 47) Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service have loaned the Snape sword to Moyse’s Hall Museum, Bury St Edmunds. The sword will be on display as part of the Conflict exhibition, running until 23rd April 2023. This exhibition examines conflict, warriors and weapons over time. On display are…
Rendlesham behind the scenes: Post-Excavation; revealing the detail
Featured image:: volunteers in the Cotswold Archaeology warehouse processing and recording the excavated material from Rendlesham After four busy months, the post-excavation work has made excellent progress thanks to the hard work of volunteers processing the material excavated last summer as part of the Rendlesham Revealed project. This week, volunteer Jonathan is our guest writer,…
Being Anglo-Saxon: making test bars for the kiln project
Featured image: Volunteers discussing the results of the test bars and pottery making. Another instalment of our Being Anglo-Saxon series following the progress of the Rendlesham Revealed experimental archaeology kiln. Several volunteers made test bars to try to work out the optimum firing temperature of the clay and also to test water absorption. Ruth explains…
Suffolk’s Royal Anglo-Saxon history on show in new exhibition
Featured image: Gilded Horse Harness Mount with garnet and shell decoration, found at Rendlesham (© Suffolk County Council) Rendlesham Revealed: The Heart of A Kingdom AD 400-800 is a new exhibition opening at the National Trust’s Sutton Hoo 23rd March – 29th October 2023, telling the story of an Anglo-Saxon royal settlement in Suffolk, the…
Fieldwalking at Lackford, Brecks Fen Edge and Rivers project
Featured image: volunteers conducting the fieldwalking survey at Lackford (© Suffolk County Council) Last October, 32 local volunteers led by a small team from Cotswold Archaeology (Suffolk Office) took part in several days of fieldwalking and surface finds collection at Lackford, as part of the Brecks Fen Edge and Rivers project . The field being surveyed…
Rendlesham behind the scenes: Post-excavation work continues & Mandy’s star finds
Featured image: Mandy holding a piece of Roman Glass The post-excavation work continues, with volunteers processing the excavated material discovered at Rendlesham in summer 2022, as part of our community archaeology project Rendlesham Revealed. This week volunteer Mandy tells us more about her experience and a few of her star finds from the environmental samples. I…
Being Anglo-Saxon: experimenting with raw local clay and additives
Featured image: four pinch pots made using different proportions of additives mixed in with 150g of clay (credit: Jnanamitra) Another instalment of our Being Anglo-Saxon series following the progress of the Rendlesham Revealed experimental archaeology kiln. This week, volunteer Jnanamitra tells us about her experience with clay processing using additives Raw local clay processing I…
Rendlesham behind the scenes: starting the second year of post-excavation processing
Featured image: Animal bone and oyster shell washed and drying after being excavated. (Photo by Graham Allen) Following the second season of excavations at Rendlesham in summer 2022, our volunteers have started the post-excavation work on the excavated material at the Cotswold Archaeology warehouse in Needham Market, as part of our community archaeology project Rendlesham…
Being Anglo-Saxon: experimenting with raw clay and pottery making
Featured image: replica Ipswich ware pottery vessel being made by a volunteer Here is the next instalment of our Being Anglo-Saxon series following the progress of the Rendlesham Revealed experimental archaeology kiln. After the clay was delivered, our volunteers started experimenting with different clay processing and pottery making methods. This week, volunteer Louise tells us…
Walking with Constable – an interdisciplinary project by the Fitzwilliam Museum
Featured image: Frontispiece. East Berholt (P.232-1954) (Source The Fitzwilliam Museum) The Fitzwilliam Museum are running a project called ‘Walking with Constable’, which aims to shed new light on the paintings and drawings in their collection by getting outside and walking in the landscape. Constable used many East Anglian scenes in his painting, particularly of the…
Being Anglo-Saxon: an experimental archaeology kiln project begins
Featured image: Ipswich ware pottery vessels and fragments, previously excavated from Suffolk As part of the Rendlesham Revealed project, Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service are working with volunteers to build and fire an Anglo-Saxon Ipswich ware kiln to make replica Ipswich ware pots. This article is the first of the “Being Anglo-Saxon” series. This experimental…
Our Favourite Archaeology in Suffolk – The Great Churchyard, Bury St Edmunds
Featured Image: View of the Great Churchyard looking west, the Chapel of the Charnel ruins are on the right, St Mary’s Church to the left. We have recently welcomed Louisa to the SCCAS team, so we asked her to share with us her favourite archaeological site in Suffolk. Louisa has a background in commercial archaeology…
Suffolk Mind volunteers help unearth the Anglo Saxon royal settlement in Rendlesham
Featured image: Nev Midwinter, 47, from Thetford, excavating at Rendlesham, with supervision from Cotswold Archaeology (Credit: Suffolk Mind) Volunteers from Suffolk Mind have been unearthing the fascinating history of the Anglo-Saxon royal settlement buried beneath the Suffolk countryside, as part of the ‘Rendlesham Revealed’ community archaeology project. Joining the army of volunteers excavating on-site were…
Our Favourite Archaeology in Suffolk – Clare Castle Country Park
Featured Image: view of the Castle motte and Keep ruins, and to the left is the station goods shed. We have recently welcomed Andrew to the team at the Archaeological Service, so we asked him to share with us his favourite archaeological site in Suffolk. Andrew joined the team in September 2022 as Archaeology Officer-…
Royal Hall of the East Anglian Kings found in Suffolk
Featured image: Drone photograph of the excavations at Rendlesham, showing the excavated hall and boundary ditch (right hand trench) and associated rubbish dump (left hand trench). (© Suffolk County Council; photo by Jim Pullen) The second season of Rendlesham Revealed excavations are now complete and have unearthed some exciting discoveries. Evidence of a 1,400 year-old…
The Final Week at Rendlesham 2022 (Week 7)
Featured image: children from Wickham Market primary school excavating animal bone from the rubbish dump. During the seventh and final week of the Rendlesham Revealed excavations the volunteers finished digging and recording the archaeology before cleaning it for final photographs. We also continued processing the finds and completing the fieldwalking. Over three days, we welcomed…
The Excavations at Rendlesham 2022 (Week 6)
Featured image: On-site with Rendlesham Primary School and Kendra the Anglo-Saxon forager Week 6 was a busy one and our volunteers included local school children and a third group of volunteers from Suffolk Mind, as well as members of the general public. Everyone worked together with much enthusiasm to continue to excavate and record the…
The Excavations at Rendlesham 2022 (Week 5)
Featured image: metal detecting on site at Rendlesham © Katie Everard / Suffolk County Council Work continues at Rendlesham, with volunteers excavating, recording and sampling the archaeological features, as well as a new geophysical survey taking place on a nearby field. Alan, one of our very experienced metal detector users, came to site to metal…
The Excavations at Rendlesham 2022 (Week 4)
Featured image: Young people from Suffolk Young Carers join the volunteers on-site © Katie Everard / Suffolk County Council The volunteers continue to make excellent progress excavating and recording the archaeology. This week our team included eight volunteers from Suffolk Family Carers aged 12-14. Throughout the week, they all learnt how to excavate the archaeology,…
The Excavations at Rendlesham 2022 (Week 3)
Featured image: A volunteer mentor and Matt recording a post hole The volunteers continue to work hard excavating the archaeological features. This week the volunteers have made a start on the excavation of the remains of the large timber hall. Only the foundation trenches for the walls and post holes now survive, and these are…
The Excavations at Rendlesham 2022 (Week 2)
Featured image: Volunteers cleaning the trenches and excavating a boundary ditch © Darren Olley/Suffolk County Council The trenches are now open and we have welcomed our first volunteers to site. Before we can start to excavate the archaeological features, they needed “cleaning”. This involved our volunteers hoeing the surface of the open trench to remove…
Returning to The Excavations at Rendlesham 2022 (Week 1)
Featured image: Opening the trenches with the machine and using a GPS device to map out the pre-excavation plan We’re back at Rendlesham this summer for a second season of fieldwork, as part of the Rendlesham Revealed community archaeology project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This year throughout the summer we will be…
Runic Objects from Staunch Meadow, Brandon featured in new exhibition
Featured image: Exhibition at Thetford Ancient House Museum For the first time since their excavation in the 1980s objects from the Anglo-Saxon site at Staunch Meadow, Brandon will be displayed at Ancient House Museum, Thetford. Our Archives Officer Julie tells us more about the site. The Middle Saxon site at Staunch Meadow, Brandon is sited…
Geophysical Survey in the Deben Valley 2021
Featured image: volunteer conducting a magnetometry survey Over the course of several weeks in 2021, 13 volunteers from the Suffolk Archaeological Field Group conducted a magnetometry survey on a ploughed field in the Deben Valley, as part of the Rendlesham Revealed project. The aim of the survey was to look at a new area in…
Fieldwalking Survey at Rendlesham 2021
Featured image: Professor Williamson fieldwalking with Rendlesham Primary School Tom Williamson is a professor of Landscape History at University of East Anglia, and he is one of the academic advisors for the Rendlesham Revealed project. As an expert in fieldwalking, Tom is also leading the fieldwalking surveys taking place in the Deben valley. Tom is…
Soil Micromorphology from Rendlesham – Excavations 2021
Featured image: Professor French taking soil samples. Professor Charles French is a professor of geoarchaeology at University of Cambridge, and the specialist advisor in environmental sampling for the Rendlesham Revealed project. Charly has completed the initial analysis of the environmental sampling taken from the Rendlesham excavations last summer. Charly is our guest writer this week…
The Second Season of Excavation at Freston
In 2021, the Freston Archaeological Research Mission returned for their second season of excavation to investigate the Early Neolithic causewayed enclosure at Freston. Dr Tristan Carter, our guest writer for this week, tells us all about it. After a year’s pandemic-enforced break, the Freston Archaeological Research Mission [FARM] returned to the field in the summer…
Pottery from Rendlesham – Excavations 2021
Sue Anderson, a freelance specialist is the Rendlesham Revealed project specialist for pottery and has completed the initial analysis of the pottery excavated from Rendlesham last summer. Sue is our guest writer this week to tell us more. The identification and recording of the pottery from the site involves dividing sherds into ‘fabrics’ – the…
Glass artefacts from Rendlesham – Excavations 2021
Featured image: identifying a glass fragment using an eye-glass. Dr Rose Broadley is the Rendlesham Revealed project specialist for glass artefacts and has completed the initial analysis of the glass excavated from Rendlesham last summer. Rose is our guest writer this week to tell us more. My first step after receiving the glass finds from Rendlesham was…
Metal Objects from Rendlesham – Excavations 2021
Faye Minter is the Rendlesham Revealed project specialist for metal objects and has completed the initial analysis of the artefacts excavated from Rendlesham last summer. Faye is our guest writer this week to tell us more. Eighty-three metal objects were uncovered during the excavations at Rendlesham last summer. The variety of metal objects recovered is…
Animal Bone from Rendlesham – Excavations 2021
Featured image: Dr Charlotte Scull working with a reference collection Following 6-weeks of excavations at Rendlesham last summer, the specialists have been analysing the material and we are now beginning to see some results. Over 2,000 fragments of animal bone have been examined by Dr Charlotte Scull, the project’s specialist zooarchaeologist. Charlotte is our guest…
The Results – Geophysics at West Stow 2021
Featured image: volunteers reviewing the geophysical survey results after collecting the data in the field. In October 2021, 12 volunteers were trained to carry out a geophysical survey in the areas surrounding West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village and Country Park. The training was led by Phase Site Investigations who have now completed the data analysis, which…
Rendlesham behind the scenes: post-excavation update
Our volunteers have completed the post excavation processing work ready for the relevant specialists to analyse. The finds are all washed, marked and quantified and the site information is all recorded onto the site database. There’s been a spectacular amount of material excavated from the trenches and it has taken almost 4 months to process…
Rare 4,500 year old axe turns up at event in Lowestoft
Featured image: copyright Mick Howes Roman coins and a flint axe, discovered in Suffolk by members of the public, were the star finds at a recent archaeology event. The event, hosted by the Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service at Lowestoft Library on 25 March 2022, saw dozens of local residents bring their discoveries to find…
Discovering the lost stones of Bury St Edmunds
Featured image: Head of a king in the herb garden © Ron Baxter Built in the 11th century, the Abbey at Bury St Edmunds was one of the most influential in medieval Europe until its suppression in 1539. The extensive remains still survive today. Since 2005, the Abbey’s stonework has been a focus of research…
Finds Day, Ipswich Museum – February 2022
At the end of last month, our Finds Recording Team held a ‘Finds Day’ at Ipswich Museum. This was the first Finds Day we have been able to host since 2020 and it was terrific to be out and about in the county meeting people again! Finds Days are a great opportunity for members of…
GPS Training, Rendlesham Revealed
Featured image: volunteers using the GPS in the field Last month, several volunteers were trained to use a GPS (Global Positioning System) device to set out a survey grid in south-east Suffolk, as part of the Rendlesham Revealed project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. A GPS is a very useful specialised device for…
Reconstructing the Sutton Hoo Ship
Featured image: Constructing the ship © Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company Over the past 6 years, volunteers at the Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company have been working on an experimental archaeology project to build a replica of the famous ship excavated at Sutton Hoo. David Keeble, our guest writer for this week and Volunteer Coordinator at the…
Rendlesham behind the scenes: finishing off the post-excavation processing
Featured image: volunteer counting and weighing finds by category. Here is another update on the post-excavation work, as part of the Rendlesham Revealed project. As the post-excavation work continued throughout December, the tasks were shared amongst our volunteers so that everyone had a chance to learn some new skills. Some of our volunteers have never…
Rendlesham behind the scenes: starting post-excavation processing
Featured image: Processing environmental samples to extract finds or ecofacts. Having finished the first season of excavations at Rendlesham this summer, our volunteers have started the post-excavation work on the excavated material at the Cotswold Archaeology warehouse in Needham Market, as part of our community archaeology project Rendlesham Revealed. The post-excavation process involves several different…
Soil Samples from Rendlesham. What happens next?
Featured image: a soil sample after being processed into a thin section and analysed through a digital microscope. Volunteers from Suffolk Mind visited the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at University of Cambridge to find out more about how archaeological samples are processed there, as part of our community archaeology project Rendlesham Revealed. A geoarchaeology…
Geophysics Training, West Stow
Featured image: volunteers being trained how to conduct a survey using a hand-held bartington fluxgate gradiometer Volunteers were trained to undertake a geophysical survey to investigate archaeology in the Lark Valley, as part of the Brecks Fen Edge and Rivers Landscape Partnership project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund In October, a geophysical survey…
Investigating Archaeology in the Lark Valley
Featured image: aerial view of the reconstructed Anglo-Saxon buildings at West Stow near to the River Lark The Archaeological Service are investigating the hidden archaeology in the Lark Valley in West Suffolk as part of the Brecks Fen Edge and Rivers Landscape Partnership project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The Lark Valley is…
New discoveries of Suffolk’s Anglo-Saxon past unearthed in the Deben Valley
Featured image: volunteers from Suffolk Young Carers excavating the cellar of an Anglo-Saxon hut. Archaeological excavation near Rendlesham is adding to Suffolk’s rich history, with archaeologists uncovering evidence of settlement and community 1,400 years ago at the time of the earliest East Anglian kings. The discoveries have come as part of the community archaeology project…
Week 6 (2021) – The Excavations at Rendlesham
Featured image: volunteers excavating and Cotswold Archaeology recording the archaeological features. We have just finished the sixth and final week of the Rendlesham Revealed excavations. It was a busy week for the volunteers, finishing off digging and recording the archaeology, processing the finds and completing the fieldwalking. Joining the team for one of the days…
Week 5 (2021) – The Excavations at Rendlesham
Featured image: volunteers from Rendlesham Primary School learning how to clean the finds During week 5 of the Rendlesham Revealed excavations, our hard-working volunteers continued to excavate and record the archaeology across the site. We have made excellent progress and have taken more samples for environmental analysis. Interesting finds this week included a spindle whorl…
Week 4 (2021) – The Excavations at Rendlesham
Featured image: volunteers excavating a sunken-featured building Throughout week 4 our volunteers continued excavating, recording and sampling the archaeological features and washing, marking and bagging up the finds. For the latter half of the week, we were joined by volunteers from Suffolk Mind. More Anglo-Saxon pit-like features, are in the process of being excavated, several…
Week 3 (2021) – The Excavations at Rendlesham
Featured image: animal bone and pottery which have been excavated from Rendlesham In week 3 our volunteers worked hard to continue excavating the archaeological features. They included 8 young volunteers from Suffolk Family Carers, aged 14-17. Throughout the week they all learnt how to excavate the archaeology, wash and process the finds. We also gridded…
Week 2 (2021) – The Excavations at Rendlesham
Featured image: Volunteers excavating quadrants of a possible Anglo-Saxon hut. During week 2, we finished opening the remaining trenches with the machine. Before we could excavate the archaeological features, the trenches needed “cleaning”, this involved tidying the edges so they were neat and hoeing to remove any loose soil so that the features could be…
Week 1 (2021) – The Excavations at Rendlesham
Featured image: Volunteers hand-digging a 2.5sqm test pit and sieving the soil for objects. The archaeological excavations at Rendlesham are now underway as we draw a close to the first week. With help from our very hard working volunteers we have made excellent progress. During the first week, we have been setting up the site,…
Uncovering Anglo-Saxon Rendlesham 2021
After lots of planning, we are excited that the first season of archaeological investigations are starting this summer at Rendlesham, as part of the Rendlesham Revealed project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This August and September, archaeological excavations will focus on the wider Anglo-Saxon settlement at Rendlesham, with support from Cotswold Archaeology and…
Our Favourite Archaeology in Suffolk – West Stow
Featured Image: View of the Anglo-Saxon village. Source: West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village and Museum Our final post on our blog series showcasing some of our favourite archaeology in Suffolk. This week as we end the series, we explore the fascinating Anglo-Saxon Village and Country Park at West Stow with Faye. Faye is a Senior Archaeological…
Our Favourite Archaeology in Suffolk – Bellcage at East Bergholt
Featured Image: Bellcage located in the Churchyard. Source: Copyright Historic England We continue with our blog series showcasing some of our favourite archaeology in Suffolk. This week, we visit a unique bellcage in East Bergholt with Abby. Abby is a Senior Archaeological Officer and has been with the team since 2008. She is currently on…
Our Favourite Archaeology in Suffolk – Gardens and parkland at Ickworth House
Featured Image: Ickworth gardens and parkland. Source: National Trust We continue with our blog series showcasing some of our favourite archaeology in Suffolk. This week, we explore the beautiful Ickworth gardens, parkland and house with Grace. Grace is the Archaeological Officer (HER) and has been a part of the SCCAS team since 2016. Day to…
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