In the seventh century CE, an early medieval noble was buried in a remarkable tomb at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England. The body and its treasures were laid to rest inside an intact ship some 27 meters long. The rediscovery of that burial in 1939 was one of the great moments of British archaeology in the twentieth century. Now there is a project to build a replica of the Sutton Hoo ship using the tools and techniques that would have been available to seventh-century shipwrights.
The Sutton Hoo Ship Project has been ongoing for the past decade. Its goal is to document for future research the processes, tools, materials, and challenges of early medieval shipbuilding as accurately as they can be reconstructed today. When the ship is complete, it will be taken through sea trials, river maneuvers, and overland hauling to help us better understand the capabilities and limitations of early medieval ships.
The project is ongoing in Woodbridge, England, just across the River Deben from the Sutton Hoo burial site, and is supported by a volunteer organization, The Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company.
Image: Ship under construction, photograph by The Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company
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