Finders bleepers as detectorist uncovers warlord and sword
A METAL detectorist who dug up two bowls was amazed to discover she had stumbled upon the 1,500-year-old tomb of a previously unknown Anglo Saxon warlord – buried with his sword and other treasures.
Sue Washington was visiting the hilltop site for the third time with Maidenhead Search Society when her device began bleeping like mad.
Just under the surface of the field she found the vessels and – realising their potential significance – alerted The Portable Antiquities Scheme.
A team of archaeologists from the University of Reading then carried out a detailed excavation of the area. They uncovered a 6ft-tall man’s skeleton along with his sword in a remarkably preserved ornate scabbard, spears and other Bronze Age treasures.
They named the man the ‘Marlow Warlord’ after the area where he was discovered – and believed to have ruled in the
6th century. Study leader Dr Gabor Thomas said: ‘ This guy would have been tall and robust compared to other men at the time, and would have been an imposing figure even today.
‘The nature of his burial and the site with views overlooking the Thames Valley suggest he was a respected leader of a local tribe and had probably been a formidable warrior.’
He added: ‘What we found exceeded all our expectations. This is the first burial of its kind found in the midThames basin. It suggests the people living in this region may have been more important than historians previously suspected.’
Ms Washington, a 64-year-old customer service agent at Farnborough Airport, Hampshire, said: ‘I have found things like coins, rings and brooches from Roman and Victorian times but it is usually tin cans and rubbish. I never expected anything like this.’