Creepy ‘sand burials’ of elite Anglo-Saxons and their ‘sacrificial’ horses discovered near UK nuclear power station

British archaeologists have discovered a 1,400-year-old burial site containing the “sand burials” of two elite Anglo-Saxon figures and a horse.

The archaeological team from Oxford Cotswold Archeology said in a statement that they had discovered “at least 11 burial mounds known as barges, along with cremations and cremation burials”. Researchers discovered the burial site near the village of Sizewell in Suffolk, eastern England, ahead of the construction of a nuclear power station.

Although the soil at the site is acidic and bones tend to deteriorate, outlines of human bones were found in two graves. One grave had the outline of a horse and the other had the outlines of two people. These remains are known as sand burials because the individuals appear to be made of sand.

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The burial included grave goods, including those of horses.

“The horse was buried with its harness.” [riding gear] It’s still on my head and shoulders [pieces] Maria Bellissimo, a spokeswoman for Oxford Cotswold Archeology, told Live Science in an email that the body had copper alloy decorations and may have had iron bits in its mouth, and that the two were “buried with a sword, a spear, two shields, a bucket with an iron ring, and copper and silver vessels.”

While sand burials contain important clues, they don’t provide as much information as preserved skeletons.

Bellissimo said that the silhouettes on the beach cannot be used to determine their age as accurately as experts can estimate from the skeletons, “but it seems likely that they were both adults.” Although their gender is unknown, “our evidence shows that they were buried at the same time and therefore very likely died at the same time,” Bellissimo said.

The cause of their deaths is also a mystery. “We can hypothesize that this horse was probably sacrificed to be buried with its owner, who may be two people in adjacent graves,” she said.

They probably date from the 6th or 7th century AD, when England was divided into several kingdoms. It is not clear who these people are, but “weapons, horses, copper and silverware in the graves, and things buried in the burial mounds” [suggest] They were elite people,” Bellissimo said.

Howard Williams, a professor of archeology at the University of Chester in the UK, who was not involved in the excavation, said the burial site was located on a ridge that would be “conspicuous in the local landscape for people traveling inland” after landing. At the time, “there were maritime communities linked by trade and kinship along the east coast of England, as well as connections in the interior of south-east England.”

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This new discovery “promises to add important information to our understanding of the habits and beliefs of these people.” [were] “It was part of the emerging kingdom of East Anglia centuries after the fall of the Roman province of Britannia,” Williams told Live Science via email.

Archaeologists made further discoveries during excavations. One of them was a treasure trove of more than 300 silver coins dating back to the 11th century.

The treasure, which was found wrapped in lead and cloth, “is believed to be a savings jar buried by local individuals as a precautionary measure during a period of significant social and political unrest in the 11th century,” the researchers said in a statement.

In addition, experts have identified pottery kilns from the Roman period (43-410 AD), oak ladders from the Iron Age (800 BC-50 AD), remains of settlements from the Bronze Age (2300-800 BC), and numerous ovens from the Middle Ages (600-1500 AD). Research into this discovery is ongoing.