Ancient discoveries in Rendlesham rewrite history of East Anglian kingdom

The discovery of 5,000 relics in a Suffolk field has reshaped the way we think about the earliest English kings and their kingdoms.

A landowner in Rendlesham, near Woodbridge, contacted Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service (SCCAS) after uncovering ancient metalwork on their property in 2008.

Over the next decade, SCCAS co-ordinated archaeological investigations across the 50-hectare site which revealed an East Anglian royal settlement and a central hub of royal power during the kingdom's early history.

The excavations uncovered thousands of relics, including precious metal jewellery and coins, identifying the settlement as one of the largest and wealthiest of its time from 580 to 730 AD.

Professor Christopher Scull, Cardiff University and UCL Institute of Archaeology, who led the research project, said: “Since its discovery on the eve of the Second World War, the royal burial ground at Sutton Hoo has stood alone as an enigmatic memorial to the East Anglian kings of the seventh century.

“But our ground-breaking research involving Rendlesham has not only identified the places where these kings lived, and from which they ruled, but also how their ancestors fought to establish a kingdom after the collapse of the Roman world.

“These societies were more sophisticated, and more widely connected, than we previously thought.

“We are able to show how local leaders, from what is now south-east Suffolk, established a wider rule over what is now Norfolk and Suffolk, and how they ruled their kingdom through royal centres such as Rendlesham.

“We also believe that the legacy of Roman rule helped shape the geography of the early East Anglian kingdom.”

Some of the notable finds include a copper-alloy gilt horse-harness fitting with garnet and shell inlay, gold, silver and copper-alloy coins from the 6th to 8th-century, a gold pendant with a stamped design which originated from southern Scandinavia in the 5th century and everyday items like belt buckles, pins and weaving tools.

A team of experts, funded by a grant from The Leverhulme Trust, reconstructed the settlement's layout and history.

Their research explored the site’s role within the broader landscape, the social connections and trade networks of its inhabitants and the advanced metalworking techniques of the master crafters of the time.

Building on these discoveries, the SCCAS launched a separate phase of archaeological fieldwork as part of the Rendlesham Revealed project, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

This phase involved local communities in excavations that uncovered additional evidence of the royal settlement, including a great hall and a potential temple.

This research has now culminated in the publication of a new book, ‘Lordship and Landscape in East Anglia AD 400–800’, published by the Society of Antiquaries of London.

The book, funded by grants from the Marc Fitch Fund, The Sutton Hoo Society, University College London, Historic England and the Scarfe Charitable Trust, is available to order through Pen and Sword Books.

Artefacts discovered at Rendlesham are being held by Colchester and Ipswich Museums.

These relics will be part of a permanent display at Ipswich Museum when it reopens.

For more details about the project and its findings, click here.

Natasha McEnroe, general secretary and chief executive of the Society of Antiquaries of London, said: “The Society of Antiquaries has been a long-term supporter of the research programme co-ordinated by Suffolk County Council at Rendlesham and is delighted to publish this major contribution to early medieval studies.”