The Deben Valley

The Deben Valley. An Anglo-Saxon Royal Landscape. Welcome to the Deben valley, the heart of East Anglian royal power 1,500 years ago., In the 7th century, south-east Suffolk was the power centre of the East Anglian kingdom, which covered modem day Suffolk and Norfolk., Here archaeologists have discovered the princely burials at Snape and Sutton Hoo, the international trading port at Ipswich and the long-lost royal settlement at Rendlesham., Rendlesham's royal residence overlooked the river Deben. East Anglian kings would have stayed here, held feasts and administered justice. The settlement flourished for almost 300 years, from the 5th to the 8th centuries, peaking in the 7th century., Rendlesham Revealed , Bede, a monk writing in the 8th century, first mentioned a royal settlement at Rendlesham in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Archaeology has now identified the site. It is the largest and wealthiest settlement of its time so far discovered in England, covering 50 hectares - the area of 70 football pitches., Life at Rendlesham , Rendlesham was home to farmers and skilled crafts as well as warriors and aristocrats. Archaeologists have found many of the objects these people made and owned, and pieces traded from as far away as the eastern Mediterranean., Early in the 8th century, the settlement at Rendlesham declined in wealth and importance. Trade moved to the international port and town of Gipeswic, modern day Ipswich., Visit Sutton Hoo , Sutton Hoo is famous for the Anglo-Saxon royal burial ground discovered by local archaeologist Basil Brown in 1939. The people who ruled at Rendlesham were probably buried there. Visit National Trust Sutton Hoo: nationaltrust.org.uk/sutton-hoo