'A bit like Game of Thrones': Rare Anglo-Saxon treasure to be shown at Sutton Hoo
The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver ever found.
Last updated 30th Mar 2022
After a two year delay a major exhibition of Anglo-Saxon treasure is due to go on show at Sutton Hoo.
Swords of Kingdoms: The Staffordshire Hoard at Sutton Hoo opens at the National Trust site on 19 May and will run until 30 October.
It will bring together some of the most important Anglo-Saxon discoveries ever and will be a first for East Anglia.
The Staffordshire Hoard was discovered in 2009 in a farmer's field. It's one of the largest collections of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver ever unearthed in the UK.
It'll be the first major exhibition at Sutton Hoo since a £4m renovation last year and comes after a two year delay because of Covid-19.
Chris Fern, an expert on the Staffordshire Hoard, said:
"There are golden warrior objects from swords, war-saddles, a royal helmet and a great war cross. Like the related treasures of Sutton Hoo, they show us a distant age that mixed pagan magic with new Christian beliefs.
"This was a time when kingdoms across Britain battled for supremacy, when kings fought and slayed each other. A bit like Game of Thrones, but real."