Sutton Hoo burial treasures

Start with the gold buckle. Within its broad surface, animal bodies twist around one another. Dark niello, a material used to pick out decoration, sharpens the pattern against the gold. This was a working belt fastening with a hollow body and a hinged backplate, as well as an object made to attract attention. The buckle comes from the early seventh-century ship burial in Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo, in Suffolk. Objects placed in that burial joined personal dress, wealth and the equipment of a high-status life. The London gallery holds finds from the burial. The burial site itself remains in Suffolk. Edith Pretty gave the finds to the Museum in 1939. The famous helmet belongs to the same group, but the gold buckle is the object to seek in this display. If you see a helmet reconstruction, read its label to distinguish it from the surviving original. Return to the buckle’s interlaced animals and try following one body through the pattern before moving to the next.