Snape Anglo-Saxon Cemetery: Excavations and Surveys
1824-1992
by William Filmer-Sankey and Tim Pestell
East Anglian Archaeology Volume 95
Suffolk County Council 2002
277 pages, 151 figures, 58pls
The Snape Anglo-Saxon cemetery stands in the Sandlings area of east
Suffolk. The first recorded excavations on the site were conducted
1862-3 by the landowner, Septimus Davidson and some friends. In
trenching the largest barrow they encountered rivets, and by
careful excavation were able to reveal the remains of a complete
Anglo-Saxon ship burial, the first to be found in England. Although
already robbed, they recovered a number of items including a gold
Germanic finger-ring, now in the British Museum, which showed that
the burial had been of the highest status. Their excavations also
revealed a large number of Anglo-Saxon cremation burials.
Subsequently the site was almost forgotten until in 1970 a dowser
found an Anglo-Saxon urn in the field to the north of the road, and
in 1972 a sewer trench excavated along the road yielded a further
nine cremations, one in a bronze bowl (published by West and Owles,
1973).
In 1985 a research project was initiated under the aegis of the
Snape Historical Trust. Excavations have shown the site to be a
mixed cremation and inhumation cemetery.
Amongst the inhumations, a wide variety of burial practices has
been noted, including the use of two, and possibly three, dugout
logboats as burial containers. Other graves made extensive use of
organics, in some instances of textile, including the first
observed used of Rippenköper weave in England (grave 37). The
grave-goods were within the normal range of material to be expected
in an Anglo-Saxon cemetery, more exotic finds including a lyre
(grave 32) and a horse's head with tack (grave 47). Finds show the
cremation burials to date for the late 5th to 7th centuries, and
the inhumations to date from the mid 6th to 7th centuries. Other
features excavated included ring-ditches, some associated with
inhumations and six burnt stone features, apparently surrounding
mound 4.
This report attempts to publish all the material known to have
been excavated from the cemetery although the urns and their
contents from the 1862-3 excavations have become dispersed over the
years and many undoubtedly lost. The 1970 and 1972 finds have also
been re-examined, redrawn and are here republished.
Price £23.50 (£27.50 including postage and packing - UK only)
Available from:
Archaeological Service
Suffolk County Council
9-10 Churchyard
Shire Hall
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP33 1RX
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