Archaeologists in England have made an exciting discovery. Nearly four decades after fragments of the 6th-century Byzantine Bromeswell bucket were first uncovered at Sutton Hoo, researchers have identified the mysterious item.

According to The National Trust, during filming for the television series Time Team, which follows archaeologists as they conduct excavations on-camera, researchers found more pieces of the relic in 2024.

At the time, the bucket was lifted in a single block and sent away for further analysis under laboratory conditions.

Those additional pieces of the item, parts of which were first discovered in 1986 and 2012, allowed researchers to determine what it was used for.

As it was found completely intact, the bucket was determined to have held a cremation burial and grave goods. Later, the cremated human and animal bones uncovered confirmed the find was used as a cremation vessel.

Among the human bones that were uncovered, were portions of an ankle bone and a skull. The work isn’t done yet. Now, the bones are being analyzed by specialists. This will allow them to understand the cremation process and determine what was on the funeral pyre.

As for the animal bones, those suggest the animal in question was larger than a pig. Researchers noted that horses were often included on early Anglo-Saxon cremation pyres as a sign of status. The bones will now undergo radiocarbon dating.

“We knew that this bucket would have been a rare and prized possession back in Anglo-Saxon times, but it’s always been a mystery why it was buried,” Angus Wainwright, National Trust archaeologist, said. ”Now we know it was used to contain the remains of an important person in the Sutton Hoo community. I’m hopeful that further analysis will uncover more information about this very special burial.”

What to Know About the Bromeswell Bucket

As for the bucket itself, researchers believe that it may have been a diplomatic gift. It could have also been acquired by a mercenary Saxon soldier.

Additionally, the National Trust said that the bucket is thought to have originated from Antioch in modern Turkey. It was likely a 100 years old when it arrived at Sutton Hoo.

“We’ve finally solved the puzzle of the Bromeswell bucket – now we know that it is the first of these rare objects ever to have been used in a cremation burial,” Helen Geake, Time Team’s Anglo-Saxon expert, said. “It’s a remarkable mixture – a vessel from the southern, classical world containing the remains of a very northern, very Germanic cremation. It epitomizes the strangeness of Sutton Hoo – it has ship burials, horse burials, mound burials and now bath-bucket burials. Who knows what else?”