Today, we’ve published two new books with research revealing previously hidden insights into the Prittlewell princely burial and the man buried.
In 2003 our archaeologists excavated a small plot of land in Prittlewell, Essex. They discovered an astonishingly well-preserved burial chamber adorned with rare and precious objects; however, many of the burial chamber’s secrets lay concealed beneath centuries of earth and corrosion and have only been revealed now.
The research, led by MOLA and funded by Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Historic England, explores the internationally significant collection, including hitherto unidentified artefacts from the Anglo-Saxon princely burial chamber.
Over 40 leading experts in a range of specialisms, including Anglo-Saxon art and artefacts, ancient musical instruments, ancient woodworking, engineering, soil science and scientific dating undertook the research, in their quest to reconstruct and understand the chamber as it would have been on the day of the burial and recover crucial evidence to date the burial.
The team left no stone unturned, using a range of techniques - from soil micromorphology and CT scans to Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and mass spectrometry. Highlights from the research include:
A 1400-year-old colour painted box
