Archaeologists couldn’t explain why this vessel was buried: now they’ve found the remains of a person who died 1,400 years ago inside it

Objects made of copper-alloys like bronze would have been highly prized in the ancient and medieval world, especially if intricately decorated. That is why researchers have been searching for why the Bromeswell bucket was buried in Suffolk, England in the seventh century.

The vessel, decorated with a hunting scene with Greek inscriptions on it, was crafted about a hundred years prior in the Byzantine city of Antioch, located in modern-day Turkey. Last summer, new excavations shed a clearer light on the mystery that has intrigued researchers.

Human remains found inside 1,400-year-old vessel

A portion of the Bromeswell bucket was first unearthed by accident in 1986. Since then, more fragments have been discovered but it was with the excavation of the base of the vessel that researchers were able to determine why it was buried.

“We knew that this bucket would have been a rare and prized possession back in Anglo-Saxon times, but it’s always been a mystery why it was buried,” said Angus Wainwright, National Trust archaeologist. “Now we know it was used to contain the remains of an important person in the Sutton Hoo community.”

He expressed hope that upon further analysis, archaeologists and researchers “will uncover more information about this very special burial.”

Inside the vessel researchers found cremated animal bones and human remains including an ankle bone and part of a skull vault, the upper part of the skull that protects the brain. The animal bones upon inspection suggest it was something larger than a pig, perhaps a horse as they were often part of “early Anglo-Saxon cremation pyres as a sign of status,” said a Time Team press release.

“We’ve finally solved the puzzle of the Bromeswell bucket,” said Helen Geake, Time Team’s Anglo-Saxon expert, in a statement. “Now we know that it is the first of these rare objects ever to have been used in a cremation burial.”

Time Team, a British television show that now publishes its content online, has been documenting the work being carried out in Sutton Hoo, Suffolk by Field Archaeology Specialists, Heritage, and the National Trust in a four part series called ‘The Sutton Hoo Dig’.

In the 1930s an Anglo-Saxon wooden ship was found buried there which prompted many excavations in the area. Since then, several other ship, horse, and mound burials including 13 cremations have been discovered believed to be of part of a Anglo-Saxon cemetery containing the remains from low to high-status residents.

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