The 88 Foot Coffin

It was 1939 and Edith Pretty had hired a local self-taught “excavator” to tackle the large burial mounds at her rural estate in Sutton Hoo near Woodbridge. His name was Basil Brown, and this mild-mannered man was very much an excellent archaeologist. He and his team of two soon uncovered iron rivets from a ship. And, despite popular belief, Basil believed it was Anglo-Saxon. He also believed it was the burial site of someone important.

My sister is visiting, and this is my first day back to work this week. I love when my sister visits. There is something so very special about sisters. You cannot replace the relationship that is with a sister. Oh, I suppose you can find substitutions, but never a replacement.

We were looking for a movie to watch yesterday afternoon and found, The Dig, which reimagines the events of the 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England.

Britishmuseum dot org says, more than a grave, it was a spectacular funerary monument on an epic scale: an 88.6-foot-long ship with a burial chamber full of dazzling riches.

As Basil and his team of archaeologists dug deeper, they unearthed fine feasting vessels, deluxe hanging bowls, silverware from distant Byzantium, luxurious textiles, gold dress accessories set with Sri Lankan garnets and the iconic helmet with human mask (pictured).

This was clearly the grave of an important person – someone meant to be remembered. But who was it?

Sue Brunning, Curator of Early Medieval European Collections, says the burial was the final resting place of someone who had died in the early seventh century, during the Anglo-Saxon period – a time before 'England' existed.

She highlights the effort and manpower that would have been necessary to position and bury the ship – it would have involved dragging the ship uphill from the River Deben, digging a large trench, cutting trees to craft the chamber, dressing it with finery and raising the mound.

Ship burials were rare in Anglo-Saxon England – probably reserved for the most important people in society – so it's likely that there was a huge funeral ceremony. She continues:

'It's this effort, coupled with the quality and the quantity of the grave goods from all over the known world at that time, that has made people think that an Anglo-Saxon king may have been buried here.

'We can't name that king for certain, but a popular candidate is Raedwald, who ruled the kingdom of East Anglia around this time in the early seventh century. He may have held power over neighboring kingdoms too, which may have earned him a good send off.'

Unfortunately, we'll never know the true identity of the grave's inhabitant. When it was unearthed in 1939, any bodily remains were claimed by the acidic local soil to leave only a human-shaped gap among the treasures within.

But there was something that caught my ear watching the movie. The “ship was buried laying east to west.”

If the ship was a burial chamber, and it certainly seems to be the case, then this would make sense.

It wasn’t that long ago that it was brought to my attention that all graves face east. I had never taken notice of that, and I have been to many gravesites. But now it’s the first thing I look for, and without fail, all graves are positioned facing east. Why?

The same person that revealed this bit of truth to me also mentioned the reason. Christians believe that's where Jesus will return from. Now, the Bible does not come right out and say as much, however, I think this some verses in Matthew may have contributed to that belief.

“For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:27

We also have the following Bible texts.

“And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east." Ezekiel 43:2 NKJV

A wiki user responded to a question on answers dot com regarding the position or placement of graves. I want to share his observation.

“While flying for Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville for 5 years, I often showed this to the various nurses that flew with me along with familiarizing them with a few of the verses from the Bible that pertained to our Savior returning from the east, like the rising sun…

“… You can take an arial photo of nearly every single cemetery in the larger cities in the US, (I have examples of Birmingham, Dallas, Nashville, Denver, etc.) and you will clearly see that the pre turn of the century grave sections (over 100 years old) all clearly face east, and then all of the ones after 1900 (roughly speaking) then begin to face in random directions.

“If you walk into the newer sections of cemeteries in nearly all of the major cities, all the new sections are random as relevant to maximizing occupancy (and no vision for the things discussed), but when you step into the old sections, you will clearly see that the graves face east.

“I have found this general principle to apply to most of the cemeteries I have visited in South America, Italy, Scotland, New Zealand, and others…I have collected hundreds of photographs of graves from the pre 1900's and their epitaphs that support this view.

In other words, “modern epitaphs have nice quotes about how good the person was, how they are in heaven, and how much we will miss them. Older epitaphs quite often read RIP (Rest in peace) and express their hope in a future day when their Savior will return to earth (like the rising sun) and will raise the dead to life.

“What we are witnessing with this grave orientation phenomenon is a shift in theology from the pre 1900's vs post 1900's. Before 1900, it was very common (as a Christian) to believe that the dead slept in death until the "last day", and as such they waited intently on a future Redeemer.” Author unknown

Isn’t that interesting? A slow shift but a shift none the less. Even the slightest variation on a path of travel, can take you so far off course, you might get lost. Christian’s have lost or forgotten much.

“The earliest settlers had their feet pointing toward the east and the head of the coffin toward the west, ready to rise up and face the "new day" (the sun) when "the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised" or when Christ would appear and they would be reborn.” (Source: answers dot com)

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first." 1 Thessalonians 4:16 NKJV

If we should die before Jesus returns, we have the promise of resurrection. And no matter where or how our grave is positioned, we can have the assurance that Jesus will wake us up again. There is no reason to wonder what happens have death!

“This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”…“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day….Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life…I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:39-54 NKJV

We can have that assurance today. Do you love Jesus? Do you want Him in your Life? Do you believe He died on a cross for your sins? Do you believe He is God? Invite Him into your life today, before you die. As long as there is breath in our lungs, we have the opportunity to serve a risen Savior. He wants to be with us.

Jesus said, “…Truly, Truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58

Jesus is the Great I am. He is returning to get his people. Will it be from east to west? I can’t wait to find out?

Psalm 49:15 NKJV “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me. Selah”

by Jeanette Stark – June 8, 2023