Memories of SuttonHoo

MEMORIES OF SUTTON HOO, PROMPTED BY THE RECENT FILM ‘THE DIG.’

The following is the full text of my letter to The Times, published (condensed) on the first of February 2021: ERIC HOULDER LRPS

As someone who, in the course of his work as a supervisor on the second Sutton Hoo dig, actually met and spoke with some of the characters portrayed in the recent film, may I be allowed to correct one or two misapprehensions promulgated by the film? I liked Ralph Fiennes’ portrayal of Basil Brown, though I remember Brown as much shorter, slighter and more broad in his speech. I met him several times, the last being on site at West Stow in 1971. I remember he reached to just past my shoulder, and I was six feet tall - then! The film’s portrayal of Phillips, however, was an insult to a fine archaeologist. Phillips spent a day on site at Sutton Hoo in August 1968. With our director Paul Ashbee all morning and lunchtime, and the afternoon largely with me. I was in charge of the excavation of the North Eastern quadrant of the overlying mound that season. Phillips, quite correctly, asked permission to enter the trowelled area, introduced himself as we stood on the tail of the mound, and spoke of the then current work, and his experiences in 1939. Physically he was at least three inches taller than I, big, but not overweight, and quite deferential to a young supervisor of far less eminence in the world of archaeology. To my chagrin, none of my friends took a picture of us conversing on the ship mound; this was long before selfies. I liked him. He was nothing like the short, fat, overbearing and bombastic Phillips of the film. Phillips’ chief contribution was to introduce a modern grid and recording system, with proper planning. The film failed to show any recording, and the diggers seemed to be just scraping away serendipitously, not maintaining levels, and dragging finds out of the ground before planning and photography. The film’s reconstruction of the ship failed to convince, as Sutton Hoo is on sand with little topsoil, so real mud as we have here in Yorkshire is unknown. This latter criticism is only likely to be understood by those who have actually dug in the Suffolk Sandlings. More serious, as you emphasise, is the substitution of a fictitious male character for two women photographers who took some of the first colour images in British archaeology. Mercie Lack ARPS, and Barbara Wagstaff ARPS did sterling work in recording the excavation. Their contribution to the site archive was critical, but no mention at all. Having said all this, I enjoyed the film as pre-war Suffolk was not very different from post war Suffolk, and many memories were re-kindled. Sutton Hoo has a magical atmosphere and Joan, my wife and I love to visit as often as we can. Of the very many excavations we have participated in, this is the only site we return to again and again. Eric Houlder LRPS, Supervisor, Sutton Hoo, 1967-69. The original letter, and the edited version actually published, set out my objections to the characterisation of the main players in the Sutton Hoo drama. Comparing notes with friend and colleague Peter Rooley, it transpired that we both enjoyed the film but the mis-characterisation of people and site annoyed us. So what really transpired at Sutton Hoo in the Sixties? The usual story begins with Brown’s investigations on Sutton Hoo Heath in 1938, and concludes with the outbreak of the Second World War. In preparation for this latter event, Mrs Pretty had asked him to stay on to fill in the ship outline, and to help dig out and erect her Anderson air raid shelter. Meanwhile the treasures, mostly fragmentary at this stage, were transferred to the British Museum (BM) and without unpacking from their protective coverings immediately transported to the disused

Dr Bruce-Mitford with what appears to be a mast step. © Eric Houlder LRPS, by courtesy of the late R Bruce-Mitford and the Trustees of the British Museum.

The area in which the 1939 spoil from the burial chamber was tipped. The recording team is busy in the left background plotting in finds three dimensionally. © Eric Houlder LRPS, by courtesy of the late R Bruce-Mitford and the Trustees of the British Museum.

Close-up of the recording team in action. Left to right: Jane Osborn; Joan Houlder; Richmal Ashbee. © Eric Houlder LRPS, by courtesy of the late R Bruce-Mitford and the Trustees of the British Museum.

Aldwych underground station for safe-keeping during hostilities. Phillips began his work producing an interim report, and the various experts completed their specialist reports and plans. So far, so good. However, the expert from the Maritime Museum, Lt Commander Hutchinson, was immediately recalled into the Royal Navy for the duration, which he did not survive, and some of his plans were later destroyed in a V1 attack. Following the cessation of hostilities the finds were retrieved from the Aldwych and unpacked It soon became apparent that pieces of several items were missing, particularly the helmet, shield and harp. Dr Rupert Bruce-Mitford, who had taken over the Sutton Hoo project following his demobilisation realised that a return to the site was necessary, but in the financial situation then current, it was impossible to do more that make tentative attempts to re-construct the items involved; hence the rather make-shift appearance of the helmet as initially displayed. Funds were not available for a return to the site until the mid sixties. In consultation with his good friend Paul Ashbee, a comprehensive campaign was planned, beginning with the re-excavation and conservation of the ship outline. This was to be followed by a meticulous re-excavation of the whole site outside the actual vessel, and extending well off the actual mound in all directions. At this stage it is important to understand the methodologies used by the previous excavators at Sutton Hoo. Basil Brown who began the work in 1938 learned his archaeology by practising it and by reading. However, the most up to date book available to him was JP Droop’s Archaeological Excavation, 1915. This is still available as a modern re-print, and offers us a window into the techniques current just before the World War I. In contrast, Charles Phillips was a pioneer of stratigraphic archaeology as taught by Wheeler’s Institute of Archaeology and as later described in Wheeler’s Archaeology from the Earth. Had Phillips initiated the dig he would have created a grid over the whole mound and then excavated either all the squares, or perhaps alternate segments of a circle centred upon the mound. Next he would dig the remaining areas including the baulks. As it was he could only superimpose a grid over the great trench skillfully, though anachronistically, opened up by Brown. The modern Open Area technique was then in its infancy, and personal conversations with Peggy Wilson ( née Margaret Markham-White) revealed subsequently that she had initially discussed using this technique with Paul Ashbee and his wife, Richmal. In view of the previous historiography of the site, Ashbee decided to extend Phillip’s grid and continue using the Wheeler Box System, though that name was yet to be coined at that time. Thus, in 1965 Dr Bruce-Mitford and a team of conservationists had a nylon cover on a scaffolding frame erected over the ship and began to carefully remove the protective covering of grass sods placed on the outline in September 3rd 1939 After revealing the much-eroded ship outline they cautiously numbered each clench-nail and (after an impression was taken) placed it in a box for eventual dispatch to the BM. Needless to say, everything was recorded three dimensionally, after which an impression was taken in plaster of Paris. Then the team excavated beneath the decayed planking and frames to look for traces of a keel. When found this was a shallow D-shaped structure. They also secured samples to test for phosphate compounds indicative of body decay products. The writer was lucky enough to spend a couple of days working on the ship before joining the team on the spoil heaps. In July of 1967 Paul Ashbee and his hand-picked excavators – including myself – began to carefully excavate the spoil heaps deposited by Phillips’ team. The stratum containing the spoil from the 1939 excavation was easily identified, and it was then forensically trowelled by the team of skilled archaeologists. Each find, no matter what its apparent origin, was precisely recorded three dimensionally, carefully cleaned and boxed for dispatch to the BM. Some of the items were complete (unexploded) mortar bombs, shrapnel or live and spent 303 rounds from the site’s wartime use as a training ground, but others were pieces of the burial deposit including fragments of the helmet, harp and shield. This was an exciting time for we archaeologists, but a frustrating one for a budding site photographer as he only occasionally had opportunity to take pictures. Site discipline was of course quite strict in those days. Among the distinguished visitors to the site was Basil Brown himself. I was surprised how short he was, but how personable once one gained his confidence. He allowed himself to be photographed with a number of the volunteers, especially Rhoisia and Bridget Copinger-Hill whom he had worked with on the original dig. Another visitor was famous Suffolk author Ronald Blyth who’s Akenfield had recently been a best seller. An insignificant schoolboy visitor was so impressed that he grew up to be the scholar Dr Sam Newton, of Time Team fame.

Rhoisia Copinger-Hill’s picture of Paul Ashbee and Basil Brown in 1967. © Kate Massey. Kate is Paul and Richmal Ashbee’s daughter, and I thank her for the use of this picture.

By September 1967, the spoil heaps had been excavated down to the 1939 ground level, where the black decayed grass on which Mr Pretty et al had once stood still showed as a definite layer. The site then closed for the season, as was the normal practice. To be continued... not to self add references e.g. Times etc