Royal Saxon tomb in Prittlewell

The Royal Saxon tomb in Prittlewell is a high-status Anglo-Saxon tomb excavated at Prittlewell, north of Southend-on-Sea, in the English county of Essex. In the autumn of 2003, in preparation for a road-widening scheme, an archaeological survey was carried out on a plot of land to the north-east of Priory Park in Prittlewell. Earlier excavations had indicated Saxon burials in the area however it was not expected that such a significant find could be made. The archaeologists were lucky in the placement of their trench and uncovered a set of Saxon remains.

Archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology Service, under the supervision of Atkins Ltd, excavated the site and discovered an undisturbed 7th century chamber grave beneath a mound. They described it as "the most spectacular discovery of its kind made during the past 60 years". The quality and preservation of the Prittlewell Chamber Tomb has led to inevitable comparisons with the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial and associated graves. The artefacts found were of a quality that it is likely that Prittlewell was a tomb of one of the Kings of Essex and the discovery of golden foil crosses indicates that the inhabitant was an early Christian.

About 110 objects were lifted by conservators in two phases, over a period of ten days. Some of the objects were block-lifted together with the soil that they were embedded in. The final lift was completed on 20 December 2003, with final defining of the chamber walls and back-filling continuing for three days after. The body had been laid in a wooden coffin, with two small gold foil crosses, one over each eye. One opinion was that he had been laid in the coffin by Christians, and that the coffin had been then buried by pagans. The acidic sandy soil had completely dissolved the body's bones, and any other bone in the tomb, but some pieces of human teeth were found, but too far affected by decay for DNA to be found in them.

Excavation demonstrated the tomb to be a deep, formerly walled room full of objects of copper, gold, silver and iron, and the chamber had gradually collapsed and filled with soil as its containing wooden supports decayed. These finds included an Anglo-Saxon hanging bowl, decorated with inlaid escutcheons and a cruciform arrangement of applied strips, a folding stool, three stave-built tubs or buckets with iron bands, a sword and a lyre, the last one of the most complete found in Britain. The tomb itself is 4 metres (13 ft) square, the largest chambered tomb ever discovered in England.

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