‘Remarkable’: 1400-year-old temple found in English countryside

It is thought the find, made near Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, could be connected to King Raedwalk of East Anglia, who ruled from the late sixth or early seventh century.

Professor Christopher Scull has been leading Suffolk County Council’s dig in the area known as Rendlesham.

They found the remains of a large timber royal hall last year, but Scull described the latest discovery as “remarkable”.

“The results of excavations at Rendlesham speak vividly of the power and wealth of the East Anglian kings, and the sophistication of the society they ruled. The possible temple, or cult house, provides rare and remarkable evidence for the practice at a royal site of the pre-Christian beliefs that underpinned Early English society,” Scull said.

“Its distinctive and substantial foundations indicate that one of the buildings, 10m long and 5m wide, was unusually high and robustly built for its size, so perhaps it was constructed for a special purpose.

“It is most similar to buildings elsewhere in England that are seen as temples or cult houses, therefore it may have been used for pre-Christian worship by the early Kings of the East Angles.”

The scholar Venerable Bede, in his eighth century book Ecclesiastical History of the English People, made mention of the “king’s village” at “Rendlaesham”.

The royal compound being excavated by Professor Scull has been found to be double the size of what was previously thought – about 20 soccer pitches.

Along with the temple and royal hall, the foundations of two other timber buildings have been discovered — and fine metalworking the group says is “associated with royal occupation”, including a mould used for casting decorative horse harnesses.

“This year’s findings round off three seasons of fieldwork which confirm the international significance of Rendlesham’s archaeology and its fundamental importance for our knowledge of early England,” Suffolk County councillor Melanie Vigo di Gallidoro said.