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Sutton Hoo 'guardian' Edith Pretty honoured with plaque

National Trust Images/Phil Morley Sutton Hoo helmet sculptureNational Trust Images/Phil Morley
A sculpture of the warrior's helmet is located at the site. The remnants of the original were pieced together and are at the British Museum in London

A blue plaque has been unveiled to honour the woman behind the discoveries at an Anglo-Saxon burial ground.

A ship and items believed to belong to East Anglia's 7th Century ruler King Rædwald were found at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk in 1939.

The Woodbridge Society erected the plaque in memory of Edith Pretty who instigated the excavations in 1937.

It was unveiled by her grandchildren on her former house - the first the society has awarded to a woman.

Inpho Edith Pretty Blue Plaque at Tranmer House on the Sutton Hoo siteInpho
Edith Pretty lived at Tranmer House on the Sutton Hoo estate and instigated the excavations with local archaeologist Basil Brown in 1937

The story of the discoveries was retold in the 2021 Netflix film The Dig, starring Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes.

It depicts the period just before the outbreak of World War Two, where local archaeologist Basil Brown was asked by Ms Pretty, who lived at Tranmer House on the site near Woodbridge, to investigate a series of earth mounds by the Deben estuary.

Larry Horricks/Netflix Carey Mulligan and Ralph FiennesLarry Horricks/Netflix
The story of the discoveries was told in the 2021 Netflix film The Dig, starring Carey Mulligan as Edith Pretty and Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown

Inside he discovered a burial ship and a central chamber filled with treasures, including the remains of the famous warrior's helmet, a gold belt buckle, sword and shield, believed to have belonged to King Rædwald.

The finds, described by the British Museum as some of "the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time", were gifted to the nation.

Katy Lewis/BBC Tranmer House at Sutton HooKaty Lewis/BBC
Ms Pretty lived at Tranmer House from 1926 to 1942

The plaque, unveiled by Edith Pretty's grandchildren David and Penny Pretty, is the 10th to be awarded by the Woodbridge Society, which commemorates notable residents with blue plaques installed on properties where they lived.

Robin Pattinson / National Trust Images Edith Pretty Blue Plaque at Tranmer House on the Sutton Hoo siteRobin Pattinson / National Trust Images
The Woodbridge Society plaque was unveiled by Edith Pretty's grandchildren David and Penny Pretty (left)

The criteria are that people should have been notable nationally in their field, have lived for a significant period of their lives in Woodbridge, and have been dead for at least 20 years.

Other recipients include Sir Ian Jacob, British military adviser during World War Two and later, director general of the BBC; Thomas Seckford, Master of the Court of Requests of Elizabeth I; the writer and poet Edward FitzGerald; and Roger Notcutt, a pioneer in the horticultural industry, who started the family nursery and garden centre business in Woodbridge in 1897.

British Museum Barbara Wagstaff, left, and Mercie Lack, right, photographed the excavation site Barbara Wagstaff, left, and Mercie Lack, right, at the excavation siteBritish Museum
Barbara Wagstaff, left, and Mercie Lack, right, photographed the excavation site near Woodbridge on the eve of World War Two
NAtional Trust Sutton Hoo burial mounds and Tranmer HouseNAtional Trust
The burial mounds are a short walk from Tranmer House on the Sutton Hoo estate
. Anglo Saxons in East Anglia graphic.
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