Basil Brown Memorial Lecture

Every year, the Sutton Hoo Society organises an annual lecture dedicated to the memory of Basil Brown, the archaeologist who not only excavated the famous princely burial under Mound 1, but was skilful and inspired enough to trace minute differences in the soil, allowing the ship burial to be outlined in the ground and properly understood. Basil Brown is one of the heroes of archaeology in Britain.

This year's lecture, held at The Hold, Ipswich, was presented by Dr Sue Brunning, whose curatorship at the British Museum oversees the Sutton Hoo Mound 1 treasures that were presented to the nation by the land owner, Edith Pretty in 1939.

Dr Brunning discussed her cutting-edge research on the treasure, which involved bidding for time in the laboratory of a particle accelerator in Paris. Using Particle-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) analysis, she was able to determine the sources of the stones used in the treasure, narrowing the locations down to India, Sri Lanka, and Czechia. Her talk put Anglo-Saxon Britain into context with the wider world in terms of trade and exchange of ideas.

James and James enjoyed the lecture and the opportunity to catch up with Dr Brunning and other friends and colleagues in the field after the event.