The cemetery

The Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Prittlewell is located close to Prittle Brook, an area that had been inhabited since prehistoric times. The full extent of this cemetery is still not known.

Special resources

On-site video: finds including copper vessels and the north and east faces of the chamber. [.mov format, 3 mins 47 secs, 6.1mb]

On-site video: finds including the folding stool in the west face of the chamber. [.mov format, 3 mins 6 secs, 3.6mb]

Panoramic view of the site [QTVR .mov format, 500kb]

Format and requirements: If you do not have the plug-in please visit http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/ to download the plug-in for Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, Mac OS X or Mac OS 8.6/9.)

Over the years a rich collection of archaeological finds has come to light in this area. During the building of the Liverpool St to Southend railway line in the 1880s, and of Priory Crescent in 1923, road builders uncovered evidence of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery as well as Roman burials.

The Saxon grave goods from past digs have included a large number of weapons from male 'warrior' graves and two brooches from a smaller number of recognizable female graves. The objects suggest that the cemetery dates from between AD 500-700.

By the early 7th century a range of burial rites were practised in England, depending on status and wealth. The highest status form of burial was in a chamber grave beneath a mound. The finest known examples are at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, Taplow in Buckinghamshire and Broomfield in Essex. The Prittlewell discovery was of the remains of one of these chamber graves.

The accidental discoveries made in 1923 (right) alerted archaeologists to the potential of the site. [Enlarge photograph]