Notecard
Mercie Keer Lack, ARPS (1894 - 1985)
Category
Photographs
Date
1939
Materials
Paper
Measurements
28 x 23 x 3 cm
Order this imageCollection
Sutton Hoo, Suffolk
NT 1940312.2.1
Caption
In 1939 a thrilling archaeological discovery was made in Suffolk that helped to change our understanding of Anglo-Saxon life and burial practices. The site known as Sutton Hoo, near Woodbridge, contains the multiple burial mounds of an East Anglian royal dynasty, dating from the 7th century AD. A team of archaeologists uncovered the fossil of the ship (caused by the high acidity of the soil) and an astonishing collection of treasures. The finds revealed the wealth, impressive craftsmanship and the wide- ranging connections and trading relationships of the Anglo-Saxon people. Shortly after the discovery, schoolteachers and amateur photographers Mercie Lack (1894–1985) and Barbara Wagstaff (1895–1973) were given permission to record the fossil of the ship, by which time all the treasure had been removed to the British Museum. Lack described it as a ‘kind of ghost ship’, and the images she and Wagstaff took provide valuable information about this excavation. The image shown here – from a meticulously annotated photo album – was taken with rare colour slide film and captures some of the archaeologists who undertook the excavation.
Summary
A piece of white card annotated with contents of the photograph album.
Provenance
A collection of photographs taken by Mercie Lack ARPS in 1939 at the ship burial excavation at Sutton Hoo. Given to the National Trust in 2011 by Andrew Lack the great-nephew of Mercie Lack, the photographer.
Marks and inscriptions
Colour prints 1 - 38 + 39. small.
Makers and roles
Mercie Keer Lack, ARPS (1894 - 1985), photographer