West Stow

The village of West Stow in the west of Suffolk in England lies to the north of Bury St Edmunds, in the district of Breckland, an overgrown by shrubs sandy heath. It is located near the Lark River Valley. This was in the early Middle Ages, 420-650 AD during the dark centuries an Anglo-Saxon settlement.

Excavation

Anglo-Saxon Village

The 1965-1972 conducted archaeological excavations laid under the sand of an Anglo-Saxon settlement Brecklands free well preserved. In the middle of the village was a large building surrounded by other houses and other buildings were grouped. It 69 smaller houses, seven hall houses and seven other buildings were found. The people apparently lived in extended families, each house offered ten people in general. The villagers cultivated connections to their continental homeland, as evidenced by glass chains and metal goods, which were found on the premises, but were not produced locally.

Other finds

The Anglo-Saxons were not the first who settled in the region. There were Mesolithic tools and a Neolithic burial ground and the remains of Iron Age round huts surrounded by trenches, found. A pagan Anglo-Saxon burial site was also excavated. The village was laid in the course of the Christianization eastward to its present location.

Open-air museum

Today is located on the old site a reconstructed Anglo-Saxon village that offers a glimpse into the Anglo-Saxon construction. The archaeological finds from the village and the region, including the Isleham hoard of more than 6500 parts of bronze, will be presented in a specially built Anglo-Saxon center.