Customer Reviews

Sutton Hoo: Burial Ground of Kings

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Carver supervised the most recent round of digging at Sutton Hoo (the full excavation report is due out in 1999). This book seeks to present the new work plus all past work in a short book for a broad audience.

At its best, this book is extremely good. It clearly summarizes the various digs, and the analyis of the archaeological evidence is clear, insightful, and often entertaining (who would have thought the archaelogists could work out so much detail of how a person was buried, down to details of how the coffin tipped when lowered, 1300 years ago?). But when Carver attempts to get into the minds of the people who built the mounds, the book often feels like bad popular history -- one example is that a comb was added to a tomb -- Carver suggests this event shows someone remembering the deceased as an unkempt youth.

Back when I purchased my copy of this striking book in July, 1998, the story was cutting edge archaeology, don't know whether that is still true at this late date. However, the information is well packaged and striking, if the reader is similar to myself (major course of study: anthropology) then no matter the relative age involved, this book will still be of some engaging interest.

The contents of the book are as follows:

Preface Introducing Sutton Hoo
Part I The Sutton Hoo Story
Mrs Pretty digs up a Ship
The British Museum's Treasure
The Message of the Mounds
Part II The Sutton Hoo Story
Interpretations
Putting down Roots
Burial Ground of Kings?
The Gallows and the Gentry
A monument for the Millennium
Open Forum Fifty questions-and a few answers
Digest of Evidence-An inventory of burials and finds so far encountered at Sutton Hoo
Location of Sutton Hoo
Further reading
Notes
Index

Many black and white photographs, maps, drawings, and illustrations are scattered throughout the text. The text is straight forward and easily read. It is an over sized book yet easy to handle and read. Especially if it is part of your night time, flat-on-your-back, bedtime reading.

Of all similar books in my home library I still prize this one after all the years. If the book tickles your interest don't hesitate to purchase, most purchasers will surely be glad they did.

Semper Fi.

This is an extremely good book that combines archaeology and history. I was fascinated with the details of the finds and enjoyed reading about the early digs at Sutton Hoo and the later excavation. Anyone who is interested in archaeology as I have been since Kindergarten I think will thoroughly appreciate this book. Excellent!