ANCIENT SITES
PHOTOS:
© JUSTIN MINNS/ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL/NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/WORLD HISTORY ARCHIVE/ALAMY
their culmination this autumn, giving the site and its
attractions a comprehensive facelift.
Upon arrival, visitors are greeted by the stunning
spectacle of a full-size replica sculpture of Raedwald’s burial
ship in the renovated courtyard. Measuring some 27 metres
long, the skeletal structure demonstrates the sheer scale of
the original vessel. Resting on concrete staging to represent
the River Deben, the artfully rusted scuplture has an etched
slab at its centre to mark the location of the burial chamber.
The sense of timelessness that pervades Sutton Hoo
invests the landscape with a suitably eerie quality, and
a new walking route, the River View Walk, allows visitors
to follow in the footsteps of the venerable funeral procession
of 1400 years ago. Winding its way through wooded areas
not previously accessible, the walk offers key vantage points
to savour the beauty of the river and gain an understanding
of the waterway’s connection to the landscape.
It’s worth stopping from time to time to imagine the
unfolding scene of devotion from centuries ago, picturing
the ancient king’s brawny followers as they laboriously
hauled the huge ship out of the water, onto the shore,
then upwards along the valley to the highest point.