Building a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon ship in Suffolk

 

Shortly before Christmas we met my youngest brother Tim and Dave his lurcher dog in Melton where, in the late 19^th-century, my great grandfather Charles Jacobs preached in the Methodist chapel. We walked along the banks of the river Deben. It was a beautiful sunny day. A meandering line of ancient wooden stakes guided the eye across the mud, where the odd bird was seeking its lunch. Nobody can be quite sure what the function of the old wooden structures might have been. They may be remnants of old wharves and jetties, perhaps salt marsh defences, or may have been connected to the Tide Mill. Our walk reminded me of the beauty of my native Suffolk landscape.

Woodbidge and the River Deben at low tide.

 

About 1,400 years ago, an Anglo-Saxon ship passed by where we walked bearing the body of a chieftain or king and treasures, now in the British Museum, that were to be buried with him at Sutton Hoo on the opposite bank of the river. The ship was 26 metres long, made with the wood of eight trees, 26 ribs, 3,598 iron or copper rivets. In a shed near the Tide Mill work has been underway since 2018 to build a replica of the burial ship using the techniques of 7^th-century Anglo-Saxon ship makers.

 

The Sutton Hoo replica under construction.

 

 

The structure of the external parts of the ship have been calculated from the records of the archaeological excavation at Sutton Hoo. However, the internal structures of the ship had been removed, probably to make the ship lighter to drag up the hill to its burial site, and to accommodate the burial chamber in its centre. Those parts of the ship are being reconstructed using partial data from Sutton Hoo, supplemented by information gleaned from other ship remains of a similar age. The Sutton Hoo ship was certainly propelled by oars. Whether it also had a mast and sails is a matter of conjecture.

A scale model of the ship.

 

The launch is planned for summer 2027.