National Trust Sutton Hoo confirms Time Team dig dates for 2025
The second phase of Time Team’s dig at Sutton Hoo has been announced for May and June 2025.
Following Time Team's exacavation at Sutton Hoo in June 2024, further excavations of Garden Field are due to take place, where Time Team uncovered the missing fragments of a 6th century Byzantine bucket and several newly discovered Anglo-Saxon graves earlier this year.
The findings from this latest dig are set to be revealed in a Time Team documentary special in 2025, presented by Sir Tony Robinson.
Image: © Harvey Mills
The National Trust has announced that Time Team will return to Sutton Hoo in 2025, after a four-week excavation carried out earlier this year uncovered the missing fragments of a 6th century Byzantine bucket, as well as several newly discovered Anglo-Saxon graves.
From 19th May until 13th June 2025, archaeologists, film crews and volunteers will return to Garden Field, where Time Team will continue phase two of their research project to find out more about the archaeology of the Suffolk site, which is famous for the Anglo-Saxon ship burial discovered there in 1939.
Regional Archaeologist for the National Trust, Angus Wainwright, said: “The first phase of the project, which took place in June, was the most intensive period of excavation Sutton Hoo has seen since the early 2000s.
“It was a really exciting moment for us and ended on a high, with the discovery of missing fragments of the Bromeswell Bucket, which originated from the Byzantine empire in the 6th century.
“The majority of these pieces were lifted out in one block and removed to an undisclosed location in York, where they are currently being x-rayed and excavated, along with some other interesting finds that were discovered in the process.”
A number of human cremations were also discovered during this latest excavation, indicating that a burial ground, discovered in Garden Field in 2000, stretches further than previously thought.
The burial ground discovered in 2000, revealed 13 cremations and nine burials, and is believed to predate the Royal Burial Ground. It’s likely to be the final resting place of residents of low to relatively high-status families – maybe even the grandparents and great-grandparents of those laid to rest at the Royal Burial Ground many years later.
These newly discovered cremations are also being processed at the specialist facility in York, where the cremated bones will be analysed to try and age and sex the person, as well as carbon date the burial.
The story has been documented by Time Team and will feature in their documentary special with Sir Tony Robinson, which is due to be released next year.
Check out a preview of this year's dig:
Sutton Hoo welcomed over 17,500 visitors to see the dig take place in June, as well as over 80 volunteers and staff, who took part in the excavations at Garden Field and at the test pits in River View Field, close to the shores of the River Deben.
These included volunteers from the Restoration Trust, which offers culture therapy to people who live with mental health challenges, as well as members of the same archaeological team who carried out a dig on the Royal Burial Ground in the 1980s, led by Professor Martin Carver.
Some of Time Team’s Patreon supporters also travelled from as far afield as the USA and Australia to take part.
As part of the project, the entirety of Garden Field was metal detected and surveyed and phase two, which will begin on Monday 19 May 2025, will build on this work, including the excavation of a second trench. It’s hoped that the team will find out even more about the prehistory of Sutton Hoo, and gain a better understanding of the second cemetery in Garden Field.
The National Trust will be working with archaeology volunteers to help support this project, with more information to be announced in the coming months. There will also be plenty of opportunities for visitors to see the archaeology in action when the dig takes place.
Tim Taylor, Time Team Creator and Producer, said: “We’re thrilled to be returning to one of the most iconic archaeological sites in Britain with the National Trust. This next phase of the dig offers an incredible opportunity to continue uncovering the secrets of Sutton Hoo and we can’t wait to see what new discoveries await us in 2025.”
Keep an eye on Time Team's Patreon and other platforms, for more updates leading up to the excavation.
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