Sutton Hoo: Britain's Valley of the Kings

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This video is #sponsored by Morning Brew.
Source/Further reading:
National Trust, a brief introduction to Sutton Hoo: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sutt...
National Trust, the true story behind the Dig: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sutt...
Nat Geo, the ghostly treasure ship of Sutton Hoo: www.nationalgeographic.com/hi...
National Trust, excavations at Sutton Hoo: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sutt...
Nat Geo, why Sutton Hoo was last of its kind: www.nationalgeographic.com/hi...
History Extra, when the Dark Ages were lit up: www.historyextra.com/period/a...
Britannica, some background on Raedwald:www.britannica.com/biography/...
National Trust, on Raedwald: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sutt...
New Yorker, Revisiting Sutton Hoo: www.newyorker.com/news/letter...

[@geographicstravel]

Sign up to Morning Brew for free today: bit.ly/mbgeographics

[@aboyne]

I know that in the Sutton Hoo burial there were some very interesting insights into pattern welded swords that reveal things about technology and craftsmanship of the Anglo-Saxons - it may be a good topic for another video

[@theprowitzproject9403]

I’ve already signed up (Legal Eagle) but was surprised by how good it is to read! Glad you’ve got a sponsorship with them!

[@jeffdroog]

Great video,but I'd like to see that Ancient Aliens take on this before I make any assumptions.I assume they've got a theory of how all that stuff collected there was actually currency used by the aliens to trade with the Saxons for use of their females in a human/alien hybrid breeding program.

[@anarchyantz1564]

The fact we even have film of them excavating the ship is fascinating as well, bringing modern recording techniques into the field more than just simple hand written notes and drawings. I love seeing finds on my home shores. Could you do some from Cornwall and Devon perhaps as well? We know you have a local locked in the Blazement after all.... :)

[@anarchyantz1564]

@@jeffdroog Simon will never give up the Reptiod secrets no matter how much you probe him for it!

[@sethrivers5303]

The archaeology-themed episodes are some of my favourites. Would be fascinating to see Sideprojects tackle the Staffordshire Hoard someday! (Don't think it's quite big enough for Megaprojects, lol)

[@markgolden1418]

Some of mine too, its so incredible the things that can come from the seaming middle of no where.

[@PresidentAutumn]

The burning of the Anglo-Saxon documents seems as much of a historical tragedy on par with the burning of the Library of Alexandria.

[@hummusmold]

Responding rather late, but the Anglo-Saxon burnings may be even worse. There are a lot of archaeologists who believe much of the Library of Alexandria's works were either copies, or had copies made for other libraries that have since been discovered. Whether the same can be said for the Anglo-Saxon finds though... that is not as certain.

[@georgeallen7101]

The Nordic tradition of not recording “stories” in the written form, but by spoken word proverbly didn’t help .

[@lundworks9901]

& Mesopotamia.

[@aq5426]

And if anyone has Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Sutton Hoo is indeed in the game and you can find the legendary helm for yourself.

[@connorbosley4431]

I've started playing then stopped, now I need to start playing it again

[@historybuff7491]

I like to think it is Readwald buried there, but I know it could be someone else. What people tend to forget, about Sutton Hoo, is what was lost. Many of the mounds (including mound 1) had robber trenches/tunnels. Additionally, even archeologies of that day were little more than grave robbers themselves. They were on the hunt for the next great tomb like Carter found. Often when it seemed there was no treasure, they would leave the site. Brown did not. He stayed, and carefully dug to see the full extent of the ship, and we are richer for that.

[@RAS_Squints]

When I see the landscape, I think of about that one poor peasant saying, 'Help help I'm being repressed' by King Authur

[@MolloyPolloy]

Bloody peasants!

[@RAS_Squints]

Oh, what a give away. Did you here that, did you here that, eh?

[@thejudgmentalcat]

"We're an anarcho-sydicalist commune" God I love that movie ❤

[@888johnmac]

i knew it , monty python quest for the grail is historically accurate , thanks

[@danielkarmy4893]

Every person who attended that burial ceremony lived. Just read that sentence and think about it again, for more than a moment or two this time. Every single one of them - every man, every woman, every child who was there to see that man through to the next world, each of them had their skills, their dreams, their life's love, the evenings of laughter and joy surrounded by those they held dearest of all. Every one of them will have woken up to the birdsong with the morning sun and breathed that crisp, cool air, and looked ahead to whatever the day might bring. Their values and ours are exactly the same: family, friends, shelter, food, warmth, comfort. That is the beauty of archaeology - it doesn't only enlighten us as to who our ancestors were. It teaches us who we are.

[@jonpitts4]

What in hell are you rambling on about?? Ive read shorter novels

[@danielkarmy4893]

@@jonpitts4 It's a shame you couldn't appreciate the comment Jon, but that's your loss, not mine. Thanks for stopping by, see you later. :)

[@russellfitzpatrick503]

Despite certain comments this truly encapsulates our past. Our past just as any other - Egyptians watching a pharaoh being entombed, and any other ancient civilisation watching their rulers being laid to rest; as thes are their histories, each and every one. And, for each, the people who attended went home afterwards and prayed for a peaceful future

[@bighulkingwar_machine1123]

Well said Dan, great comment:)

[@indiekiddrugpatrol3117]

@@danielkarmy4893 another thing to ponder on, if you're English, American Australian etc chances are some of your ancestors were there

[@markgolden1418]

Edith was a legend, wins the battle then gives the artifacts to the museum anyway.

[@chaoticdevil9520]

I live literally a minute away in a place called Woodbridge and been there many times when I was a child! You can see it from woodbridge across the river Deben!

[@archstanton6102]

I have been to Woodbridge several times. And Sutton Hoo once.

[@Never2old.]

I often pop over there as the National trust are putting a lot of effort into making it a sire of significance and its interesting to see the latest improvements, like the observation tower and the new information panels. OK I also have an addition to national trust scones 😋

[@amb163]

I first learned about Sutton Hoo while watching an episode of Time Team (a great archeology series that ran for almost 20 years) -- it is utterly fascinating! To put it simply, Sutton Hoo completely rewrote history.

[@FatBlockOfHash]

Gosh, not often you see someone talking about time team, but on their own KZbin channel. They recently did a dig this year, the first since they stopped so many years ago. Hours of my childhood spent watching them on tv

[@sandybarnes887]

@@FatBlockOfHash 2 digs

[@FatBlockOfHash]

@@sandybarnes887 Sorry, I stand corrected

[@sandybarnes887]

@@FatBlockOfHash no need to be sorry. Details on their channel.

[@amb163]

Two more digs?! Good to know! :)

[@Never2old.]

The site is a 30 minute drive away from me and I often head up there to walk the area. It might have been a bit extra to note that the burial site was supposed to look over the Deben but the view is obscured by a wood planted by the Victorians in the late 1800s 🙄 It is well worth a visit if you find yourself in Suffolk, the National trust has built an observation tower to help better appreciate the site and have opened a new visitor centre with replicas of the treasures, try the scones while you're there 😀

[@minervacuervo4662]

There is a beautiful film in Netflix: The Dig. It does take a few liberties with the story but the photography and the performances or Ralph Fiennes and Casey Mulligan are out of this world

[@hazmania]

What an awesome discovery Sutton Hoo was! Delightfully explained & described in another of Simons excellent videos. Thank you, Simon, for all your hard work (& Sam & Danny et al)on, & for, all your channels, you’ve made the last two years bearable, interesting, entertaining and informative, couldn’t ask for more, though I would ask for less, much less, Covid!

[@anselledmont9614]

I used to live directly across the River Deben on Brick Kiln Lane when posted to RAF Bentwaters and the artifacts have been a valuable resource for myself and other artists and jewelers. Great find indeed.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

2:40 - Chapter 1 - In the absence of light 6:20 - Chapter 2 - Dig lazarus, dig 10:10 - Chapter 3 - Treasure island 13:00 - Chapter 4 - Lost connections 16:30 - Chapter 5 - Down among kings 19:10 - Chapter 6 - Unfinished business

[@samlaine3315]

U everywhere lol

[@josefinekarlsson5272]

You really need to do an episode of Sanbyborg in Sweden. On an island called Öland. The red wedding in game of thrones has nothing on that massacre! Check it up it's horrible and exiting and one of a kind!

[@whyjnot420]

One of the great things about Great Britain's position on a map, is the vast amount of interaction with vast number of languages and its effect on the English language. It would take an essay to really to the topic justice, suffice it to say the more a language interacts with others, the more simple it becomes, making it easier to utilize to greater effect.

[@VosperCDN]

I'd seen the Sutton Hoo helmet in other videos several times, but never looked into the full story - thank you for such a detailed overview of Sutton Hoo and all it means to history.

[@darlingicarus]

oh wow, when I first saw the footage of the boat structure I thought it was the actual remains, but to hear it was more of an impression left in the ground? marvellous!

[@thejudgmentalcat]

"...distant, pasty-obsessed aliens" 🤣

[@buxeessingh2571]

Daemons from the planet Daemos. With horns.

[@RainbowTheSnail]

I grew up and still live about a 10 minute drive from Sutton hoo. It's really cool seeing places I know on your channel. I am 23 now and I have been there about 30 times. Its a fun place to walk around. When i was little they let me walk on the mounds. Now people are not allowed to walk on the mounds unless for special reasons. So it's cool that I got to do that when I was little.

[@stuartgreen4512]

I work in Ipswich museum (where Basil Brown worked, and only 10 mins away) and this place is amazing. Shame the redeveloped visitor centre is all a bit meh-

[@suttonssuperstars7679]

Finally my heritage is known!! Thanks brother Simon.

[@neopagan1976]

Thank you for the wonderful video upload, Simon. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@zarathustra007]

This was awesome. A glimpse into a fascinating time. Well done.

[@ridethecurve55]

I only wish the golden chest would have been discussed and shown in greater detail. Oh, and those gold coins!! Awesome.

[@nickbrown9895]

Brilliant, as always. Thank you Simon and author.

[@CptMoroni35]

I greatly enjoy the videos you all do about the people and places of British history. It helps me understand more about one of my ancestral homelands, 😁

[@russellfitzpatrick503]

Actually quite beautiful, and revealing some of the treasures that this land holds in its bosom. Many thanks

[@HelmutWPesch-rk6ty]

It's a pleasure listening to this lively presentation.

[@yvonneferguson8575]

Thanks to the team, brilliant episode, think Simon enjoyed this as well!!

[@jimmyzbike]

fascinating deep dive, thanks for sharing

[@brondroid]

This episode is brilliant, thank you so much!

[@balazsvarga1823]

Not something you can spin off into a 23 minute video, it is something that History channel can make into a 23 season ufo alien ghost story.

[@grumpyoldwizard]

Fascinating. Thank you for this video.

[@josephschultz3301]

I feel like this subject may have been of a personal interest to Simon. There was a certain energy to him in this, like a student in school learning something new about their own favorite subject. Good stuff, Simon. Good stuff.

[@anarchyantz1564]

Simon: Cornwall. Full of distant, Pasty obsessed aliens.... Danny gets on his keyboard and decides to punish Simon with a 30 page Brain Blaze script explaining to this Kentish dirt grubber just how wonderful Cornwall and the Cornish people are! (Spoiler alert, they really are great!) :)

[@georgeallen7101]

The Cornish are indeed a special people. The kingdom of Kernow keeps very quiet. They have unique geography to admire …… the pasty reference is a bit rude ! Smuggling wrecking and mining ……….. and strange surnames ……. Do make a good oggie though!!!!!

[@anarchyantz1564]

@@georgeallen7101 I love Pasties and Cornwall. Have Cornish relatives (actual generational ones, not English imports lol) down St. Ives way. Been going down there since I was 6 months old back in the early 70s. It is my true happy place despite being a lowly Essex person.

[@Hochspitz]

I enjoyed "The Dig" but is it true that Brown didn't receive any recognition for very many years?

[@franl155]

That was fascinating, thank you so much. I knew about Sutton Hoo and the Helmet, but not much more. Now I need to find more vids of the later excavations.

[@Downloadeodeo]

Fabulous detail. Thank you for digging it up. 🌼🌸🌷 :D

[@nataliegirbach1603]

I love this show! Just wish it was a podcast too :) I love listening when I bike!

[@trj1442]

Another excellent episode. Thankyou Geo team.

[@jeremythornton433]

Fascinating! Thank you!

[@ryanwaters3318]

Can we get a geographics on Hershey PA or a biographical on Milton Hershey The way he built the town just for workers before he even had a product to sell. And the fact he provided amenities that were unheard of for the day of corporate towns. Hell between the town and factory it could be a mega project

[@ShelleyScreen]

Dunno if anyone else caught this, but Simon- thank you for the acknowledgement that the English treated the Irish like crap.

[@francoisdaureville323]

So? Im english i dont feel bad about that i didnt did that, irish people are always talking about how americans arent irish just because of their ancestors, im english i born in 2000 i didnt do Anything that english people of the past did,, And nobody is going to make me feel about that have a good day mate.

[@ShelleyScreen]

@@francoisdaureville323 TREATED. Past tense. I'm not saying you did anything.

[@kennyhagan5781]

The fact that they weren't professionals, that makes this story better.

[@semaj_5022]

These sre my favorite sort of topics. Great video

[@Vaterunser904]

Beautiful history of the Sutton Hoo thank you man

[@LiveFreeOrDie2A]

It makes you wonder how many other treasure hoards are still buried around the world waiting to be accidentally discovered?? Especially when even a mound like this where robber’s DID dig a tunnel looking for treasure only to stop just short of discovering it.

[@ChloeKream]

Loved the video. Would like to see a video on the staffordshire hoard. Another huge anglo saxon find made not too long ago!

[@kcvail7409]

Amazing, Thank you for sharing

[@eleriloki6275]

Your timeline at 15:45 had me laughing so hard my husband came to hear it too. He also thought it was hilarious.

[@jamest2401]

Not just the venerable Bede, but wouldn’t the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' cover some of these eras? Or was it started too late for this time?

[@greenspiritarts]

Lively summary! Well done!

[@daftirishmarej1827]

Thank you!! Any chance of something about the Mary Rose vessel going down then being found?

[@Beryllahawk]

Yeah I'd only ever heard of the helmet, and at that only that it was Anglo Saxon - and being that I was born in the 1970s and my schooling included Beowulf without really making clear the ways in which that tale and its time were regarded.... yeah... this was VERY surprising information. I'm particularly glad that you took a moment to point out that bit about just how the timeline of British history "used to be thought of." Somewhere in the muddle of half-understood conversations that my mother had with friends, and various other bits and bobs of learning about European history in a general way...I'd got the idea that "Dark Ages" applied to the entirety of the Continent. Heck, it was only a couple of years ago that I finally understood that King Arthur as we think of him today, was an invention of the RECENT past, and not actually a story from those same "Dark Ages." Fascinating video! As a side note - I think I'd like to learn about Basil Brown, if you've a spare slot on Biographics sometime. He sounds equally as fascinating as Sutton Hoo!

[@retroboy8696]

Basil bikes from Rickinghall to Sutton hoo and back again some days

[@bonniehoke-scedrov4906]

Great video! Thanks!

[@deirdregibbons5609]

The You Tube channel "Crow's Eye Productions" makes a series of videos called "Getting Dressed". This focuses on the clothing worn in different historical eras by showing how a person from a particular era would get dressed. One of their videos shows how a young woman from 7th century East Anglia gets dressed for a formal event. That event turned out to be the funeral for the person buried in Mound 1.

[@AsteroidM749A]

I second the above - great channel. :)

[@jacklucas5908]

How have I never heard of this before!?

[@barrydysert2974]

(... the Romans said, "Screw this rainy island.") 😂😂😂😂😂

[@epicweedskrrtswag7872]

Very interesting topic!

[@missyb.623]

Well done. Thanks

[@mrcow20]

I live round the corner from Sutton Hoo and its well worth a visit.

[@malahammer]

An absolutely brilliant and lovely movie :)

[@danielnystrom7310]

Would love to see what you could find about "vittene treasure" not far from my homevillage in sweden. I would watch you talk about that for sure

[@EADGBEred]

Great stuff! Have you all ever done a video on St. Elmo's Fire on any of the channels? I don't know a lot about it and though what's out there is clarifying, it's also very dry. It would be fun to see what you all dig up and how you present it.

[@avrilmiles]

😊

[@curiousworld7912]

I love studying this time period, as I've long had issue with the term 'dark age'. It's not like the Sun disappeared for centuries, after all. This period in time was just different from what the Romans had established under their Western empire, and we simply can't account for what was lost, stolen - or, may yet be found. I've been lucky enough to have toured Suffolk, and fell in love with East Anglia - particularly, Bury St. Edmunds, Ely, Ipswich, Burgh Castle, and of course - Sutton Hoo.

[@--enyo--]

I think a lot of historians now refer to it as ‘premodern’.

[@Getorix]

It's called the dark ages because of all the technology and knowledge that was lost and then rediscovered during the ENLIGHTENMENT.

[@promiscuous5761]

Thank you.

[@eamonwright7488]

Sutton Sue is my spirit animal. She’s more knowledgeable on the subject than any living soul.

[@burtdurger847]

So literally every one of those recommended stories in the ad read are future Brain Blaze subjects for sure!

[@kellypiraquive1227]

Fascinating!

[@GrievousReborn]

I've been assassin's creed Valhalla which takes place around the time of Anglo-Saxons and vikings in England so atm this is very interesting to me

[@taybak8446]

Wow! I am sleepy and drunk and yet your excellent voice and really well considered information captivated me so much so that I was at full attention for what is a very long 23 minutes. Normally, when I am in this state even 2 minutes of breaking news gets me groggy. I also loved your reference to the Florida man, which I assume is Trump being persecuted by the leftist media. I totally agree. I loved this presentation and look forward to more high quality stuff from you. I also trust you to be based. I've always wanted to visit Sutton Hoo since my school days and now I really need to go thanks to you.

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you

[@Svensk7119]

That helmet decorates the cover of my Chickering edition of Beowulf.

[@thomassugg5621]

A place Iv always wanted to visit.

[@chaoticdevil9520]

It's worth going too! I live near it 🙂

[@georgeallen7101]

Go and visit . A very interesting place in a wonderful part of England .

[@ctsaxon29]

Could you talk about the Richat Structure

[@staticaudio6961]

Any Roman items probably came from Colchester (Camulodunum) which up to the Romans leaving was the capitol of Roman Britain and is only 25 miles away from Sutton Hoo :)

[@billdehappy1]

more probaly taken there from europe mainland..

[@nancyM1313]

Better then my Art History Class. Thanks⚱🥀⛏

[@Nanno00]

I loved this. I hope they are working on the 1/3rd that is left to excavate.

[@masterimbecile]

Knock knock Who's there? Sutton Sutton who? Yes that's me.

[@PitboyHarmony1]

What I want to know is; how did Simon know at 8 minutes in ... that he was on a 23 minute video ... and he was only 5 seconds off? 23 is oddly specific.

[@emmarichardson965]

I suspect they do practice runs on these videos, to make sure the lighting and sound is right and so he knows the material that he's reading.

[@PitboyHarmony1]

@@emmarichardson965 - Maybe, but after watching Simon for a while, I have to really wonder if he is willing to read every script twice ... I'm thinking not. His day would literally be twice as long.

[@paddyoreilly8335]

Can you please make a Video on The Rock of Cashel Ireland's Valley of the King's. Thank you.

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@mercator79]

It is sad I found this from Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, but I am so glad I did.

[@skitkjell85]

Accidentally had subtitles on. Apparently KZbin thinks 'Sutton Hoo' is actually 'Satan Who' xD Well! At least I got a giggle out of it.

[@sophroniel]

All my recommended videos are different channels...... all with Simon Whistler's face, but one. I clicked on that video too... and idk where the blazeboye was, but it was his channel too 🤣

[@bfnfedboy2]

Can you do something on the Vietnam Veterans wall located in Washington DC?

[@calebtar]

How are we just now getting this video!! Lol wow so cool

[@AndrewG1989]

Sutton Hoo is few miles northeast of Ipswich and near to Woodbridge. Never heard of Sutton Hoo.

[@dudepool7530]

What I've learned from Geographics: we here in New England just stole, and shortened names from Old England. I live in Worcester Massachusetts. Near Sutton Mass. And Oxford. Yup, we appropriated England lmao.

[@Silverado138]

🤔 what gave that away for you 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤷🏻‍♂️

[@AsteroidM749A]

Brother you guys didn't steal or appropriate anything, you were just inspired. New England is the finest part of the US, you should be proud.

[@mmenzerable]

The Franks Casket (shown at 2:02) was not found at Sutton Hoo. It is also very cool -- and has its own interesting story -- but it's not part of the Sutton Hoo burials.

[@Theodisc]

The Venerable Bede has been around so long that he was known as Bēda in old english. Good old Bēda 📿

[@christopherheppingstall3608]

If you'd like to know more detail on the artifacts found just type curator sue, British museum. Enjoyed the video

[@BuzzKiller23]

Great video. Thank you for saying behemoth correctly ;)

[@JamesFromTexas]

I couldn't find the link bellow. Is it like a little hand held bellows or one of those larger foot kind? Or maybe it's a mouth bellows? ETA: 1:17

[@annoyingbstard9407]

Only a lunatic would think that boat was dragged up that hill from the river when it was obviously built in Situ.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one

[@IlRyanWilsonlI]

My favorite archeologist is Phil Harding from Time Team.

[@AsteroidM749A]

Ohh I miss Time Team :(

[@kreiner1]

That was really cool 😎 👌 👍