Sep 18 2002
Sutton Hoo
When I told people in vacation-deprived America that I was going to England for three weeks, they all thought it was a long time to spend in such a small place. After they finished marvelling at the extravagance of time spent, they’d say things like, “You’ve been there before – you must have seen it all by now.” I don’t think even the most dedicated person, even one with the assistance of amphetamines and with limited sleep, could “see everything.” Have any of you residents of his sceptred isle seen it all? And you do realize I was kidding about the road thing, right?
Another thing that’s so great about England is that almost everything is older than me, and I love that. Today’s examples of things older than Suzy: Sutton Hoo, where I spent the day, and Seckford Hall, where I’m having dinner with my cousin Les and his wife Nadine.
Sutton Hoo was the burial place of warriors and kings during the 600’s, and is also believed to be a place of execution and burial a few years later. The famous ship buried there, with its wonderful helmet and exquisitely crafted treasure, most likely was the grave of one of the earliest kings of England, Raedwald. It is a fascinating and mystical place, and I like it that we don’t fully understand everything about it. I guess scholars would love to know more about our ancestors and their beliefs, and so would I in some ways, but in others I like it that we haven’t been able to dissect everything and reduce it to scientific facts and figures.
As I walked these burial mounds with dozens of other visitors who were laughing and talking, I thought we should all show more respect in memory of the people killed and summarily dumped in shallow graves; a king who united his people for the first time; the warrior and his faithful horse, now always together; the graves of men, women and children who lived, loved and worked under the same blue Suffolk sky more than 1,000 years ago. How many years have to pass before this reverence is no longer expected and a place of bereavement and suffering can become a tourist attraction?
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