![]() ![]() Peggy and Stuart Piggott divorced in 1956. ![]() Her skills as an excavator made her a natural choice for Charles Phillips’ team assembled to finish the excavation of the Great Ship Burial in 1939 and she was the first of the team to discover gold at the site. Peggy Piggott became a highly skilled archaeologist and published works on numerous sites spanning the Iron Age and the Bronze Age. In the same year, she married her first husband, Stuart Piggott. She went on to gain a diploma (equivalent to a degree, which women at some universities were excluded from at the time) from the University of Cambridge in 1934 which she followed with a postgraduate diploma from the Institute of Archaeology in 1936. Peggy Piggott (Lily James), born Cecily Margaret Preston and later Margaret Guido, became involved in archaeology at an early age. Excavation continued and, despite the excitement, he maintained his careful, methodical, approach. Basil Brown rushed over and recognised it as being a ship rivet. Just three days in John Jacobs called out that he had found a piece of iron. įor the 1939 excavations Basil Brown was joined by William Spooner (gamekeeper) and John Jacobs (gardener). There was still great intrigue over the contents of the largest mound, so a second season of excavation was arranged to commence on. The British Museum were also informed about the finds and Guy Maynard wrote several articles on them. The objects were presented by Edith Pretty to Ipswich Museum where they were placed on display. Mound 4 was the last of the 1938 season, and whilst it had a very shallow pit, and showed signs of having been robbed, careful excavation revealed some tantalising fragments of bronze, high-quality textile and bone. He also recovered a piece of blue glass, a gilt bronze disc, iron knives and the tip of a sword blade. ![]() Mound 2 revealed pieces of iron, which he recognised as ship rivets - although having been previously scattered by grave robbers, they did not immediately suggest a ship burial. Within Mound 3, he unearthed the remains of a cremated man, along with a corroded iron axe-head, part of a decorated limestone plaque, fragments of pottery and the lid of a Mediterranean jug. Edith Pretty provided Basil Brown with accommodation and assistants in the form of Bert Fuller and Tom Sawyer who were labourers on the estate.īetween June and August 1938 Basil Brown and his team excavated three mounds (today referred to as Mounds 2, 3 and 4). In the following spring, arrangements were made between Edith Pretty, Guy Maynard, James Reid Moir (President of Ipswich Museum) and Basil Brown to begin excavating the site. Shortly afterwards Guy Maynard, curator of Ipswich Museum, visited the Sutton Hoo estate and the wheels were set in motion to explore the site, but little did they know that what would eventually be unearthed would completely transform our understanding of the Anglo-Saxon period. It was here that Edith Pretty, who had long been interested in the burial mounds on her estate, first met with Vincent Redstone, a local historian who wrote to Ipswich Museum. The true story of the excavation of the Great Ship Burial began in July 1937 at the unlikely location of Woodbridge Flower Show. ![]()
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