Overview

• The Bromeswell bucket, a sixth-century Byzantine copper alloy vessel, was used as a cremation urn for a high-status individual in the Sutton Hoo community.
• Researchers found cremated human and animal remains, along with an unburnt antler comb, inside the bucket, which was decorated with a hunting scene and Greek inscription.
• Advanced imaging and micro-excavation techniques confirmed the bucket’s origins in the Byzantine Empire and its use in Anglo-Saxon burial practices.
• Archaeologists hope to extract ancient DNA from the comb to learn more about the individual interred in the bucket, though the bones themselves could not be sexed.
• Time Team, in collaboration with FAS Heritage and the National Trust, continues its second phase of excavations at Sutton Hoo until mid-June, expanding knowledge of the cemetery’s early graves.