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Replica Sutton Hoo ship could change view of Anglo-Saxons say builders

Stephen Huntley / BBC Anglo-Saxon replica ship hullStephen Huntley / BBC
Two finished pieces of the replica ship were recently joined together and work will now begin to clad it

Volunteers constructing a full-size replica of an Anglo-Saxon king's burial ship said it could "change people's views about how England began".

The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company in Woodbridge, Suffolk, is reconstructing the 88ft (27m) wooden ship that was buried at Sutton Hoo.

There are then plans for specially trained rowers to take it on voyages.

The company said the project would "show Anglo-Saxons to be of a character unimaginable before".

PA Media Sutton Hoo replica shipPA Media
Volunteers are constructing a full-size replica of an Anglo-Saxon king's burial ship, across the river from Sutton Hoo

The ship was buried 13 centuries ago before being rediscovered and excavated in 1939 - a story that has recently been told in Netflix film The Dig.

The replica is being built in a shed beside the River Deben in Suffolk.

Two finished pieces were recently joined together and work will begin to clad it with nine 66ft (20m) oak planks on each side, with wood donated by Suffolk farmers.

British Museum/PA Media Sutton Hoo shipBritish Museum/PA Media
Dating from the early 7th Century, the original vessel has been described as a ghost ship as its timber had rotted away in the acidic soil, leaving only an imprint in the sand

The independent charity's chairman, Prof Martin Carver, said the £1m project was due to be completed in 2024.

After a year of "rigorous training" for those working the 40 oars, it is hoped the first of three planned trips on water will then take place in 2026, to test its performance and show how rivers were the "motorways of the age", he said.

PA Media Martin CarverPA Media
The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company chairman Martin Carver said the ship would "show Anglo-Saxons to be of a character unimaginable before"

The first voyage will see the ship leave the River Deben and travel into the Thames towards Oxford.

The second will be north to the Humber and the mouth of the River Trent and what used to be the Kingdom of Mercia, with the third taking the ship up the coast to Hartlepool, Whitby and Jarrow.

They also hope to eventually move the ship from the River Deben up the hill to where it was originally buried.

National Trust Images/Justin Minns Royal burial mounds at Sutton HooNational Trust Images/Justin Minns
Royal burial mounds at Sutton Hoo have been excavated since 1939

"Just seeing the size of the ship will have such an impact and show Anglo-Saxons to be of a character unimaginable before," said Mr Carver.

"They weren't just living in mud huts... it will revolutionise the way this bit of England's past is represented in novels and films.

"By building a ship, people will instantly know what they did. They built an amazing structure in wood and it will change people's views in a positive way about how England began."

PA Media Sutton Hoo replica shipPA Media
Building a replica ship will show how Anglo-Saxons built an "amazing structure", Mr Carver said

In order to raise a further £50,000 to secure the materials, the public is being invited to sponsor one of the 4,000 rivets being used on the ship.

"It's nice that we can give people who like what we're doing a share in our work," Mr Carver said.

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