Free talk King of bling

28 June 2005

Hear from Ian Blair, the man who led the Museum of London team which made one of the most spectacular archaeological discoveries of the last hundred years.

The senior archaeologist from the Museum of London talks about the once-in-a-lifetime discovery of the tomb of the Saxon King of Southend, and the fabulous treasures that give us a glimpse into the life of the super-rich in the Dark Ages.

If you followed this extraordinary story on Channel 4's Time Team special recently, find out more from the archaeologist who made the discovery.

The tomb is the richest Anglo-Saxon find since the Sutton Hoo ship burial was unearthed in 1939 and contains an incredible collection of objects. The wood-lined chamber was hung with a lavish collection of grave-goods.

Some of the treasures were imported from the farthest corners of the known world and many have survived in remarkably good condition. They include wooden vessels with exquisitely decorated gilded mounts, a gold buckle and traces of gold braid, as well as coloured glass vessels and copper bowls.

Spectacular in size and quality, what really marks the find as unique is that all the objects were in their original positions, just as they had been arranged on the day of the funeral.

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