Discovery of Sutton Hoo Helmet

Date: July 28, 1939 • Location: Woodbridge, United Kingdom

During the excavation of a 7th-century ship burial at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England, archaeologists discovered the Sutton Hoo helmet (pictured), widely associated with King Rædwald of East Anglia.

A ship burial or boat grave is a burial in which a ship or boat is used either as the tomb for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave. This style of burial was practiced by various seafaring cultures in Asia and Europe. Notable ship burial practices include those by the Germanic peoples, particularly by Viking Age Norsemen, as well as the pre-colonial ship burials described in the Boxer Codex in the Philippines.