As well as things of great beauty, a number of more practical, everyday items were found amongst the burials.
The helmet
The picture on the right is a reconstruction made from the surviving fragments of a helmet found at Sutton Hoo. The smooth brown parts are a base to support the actual fragments which are the rough parts. This is one of only four known Anglo-Saxon helmets. The original helmet was made from iron with tinned-bronze decorative plates and is the most exquisitely crafted of all the known early medieval helmets from anywhere in Northern Europe as shown in the replica below. The decorative figures include flying dragon and boar heads. Similar designs have been found on objects from Sweden and Germany scholars still argue over their meaning.
©British Museum
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The ship
The ship was the largest and most complete example of an English vessel of the first millennium - some 27m (90ft) in length. Such ships would have been used to travel across the North Sea, for trade, for settlement and to forge links with kingdoms in other countries. All the timber had decayed, leaving only stained sand and iron rivets.
©British Museum
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The gold buckle
The great gold buckle - almost certainly made in East Anglia in the 7th century. The stepped interlocking patterns have been built up with geometric precision and balance.
©British Museum
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The purse
Only the frame and mounts of the purse lid survives - the lid itself may have been made from ivory. Made of gold with decorations in gold filigree, cut garnet (red) and millefiori glass in blue, red and white. The object is one of the greatest triumphs of early medieval jewellers' work from anywhere in Northern Europe.
©British Museum
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Silverware
The silverware originated from the eastern Mediterranean and is the largest burial deposit of silver of this period found in Northern Europe. The objects could have been diplomatic gifts or bought from traders.
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Shield
The shield lay on the burial chamber floor immediately west of the helmet and survived only as a jumbled group of metal fittings associated with tiny scraps of the limewood and leather that once formed its massive board. It has been reconstructed with a diameter of 91.5 cm.
The richness of the Sutton Hoo shield, with jewelled and crafted emblems of an eagle and a dragon, suggests that it was assembled by Swedish craftsmen working to a commission in the workshops of the royal Anglian court.
©British Museum
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Spoons
A pair of eastern Mediterranean spoons were found engraved with the names "Saulos" and "Paulos" (Greek for Saul and Paul) and date from around AD 600. It is thought they may have been baptismal gifts.
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