In Beowulf, we hear of the Danish king Shield's burial:

"A ring-whorled prow rode in the harbor,
ice-clad, outbound, a craft for a prince.
They stretched their beloved lord in his boat,
laid out by the mast, amidships,
the great ring-giver. Far-fetched treasures
were piled upon him, and precious gear.
I never heard before of a ship so well furbished
with battle-tackle, bladed weapons
and coats of mail. The massed treasure
was loaded on top of him: it would travel far. . . .
And they set a gold standard up
high above his head and let him drift
to wind and tide, bewailing him
and mourning their loss..."

Though Shield's burial ship has not been found, another Anglo-Saxon noble was laid to rest in another ship, and the remains of that ship and its cargo were found in an English field in 1939.  Instead of sending the funeral ship off to sea, the English buried the ship with the nobleman and his treasure inside. The site was excavated, and the treasure from that burial ship is on display at the British museum.  The ship itself is completely gone, but the impression of its timbers remained in the soil, as this photo taken during the excavation reveals:

For a nicely detailed set of lecture notes about  the ship, visit this site: http://www.history.bangor.ac.uk/shipspecial/SHLECT70.HTM 

In the burial chamber of  the ship, archeologists discovered a treasure trove of artifacts, dating to around 625-637 A.D. The gold jewelry and other artifacts reveal a sophisticated, artistically-aware society. The shoulder-clasp and belt buckle below were part of the treasure discovered in the ship burial site.

Sutton Hoo: Shoulder clasp


Sutton Hoo: Belt buckles

The helmet found at this site, along with a helmet found at another English excavation, shows some of the characteristics described in the text of Beowulf. Follow this link to find the helmets.

You may visit the Sutton Hoo Society's web page at http://www.suttonhoo.org/index.html 

Other Study Pages:

The Heroic Ideal

A Character List

Danes

Geats

Swedes

Terms

Sutton Hoo (may load slowly--be patient)

Anglo-Saxon armor

Other Links