Fig 1.
Map showing provenance of the grave goods found at the Sutton Hoo site (including the mints represented by the coinage) with major cross-continental trade routes indicated.
Also marked are the locations of bitumen sources investigated during this study (adapted from Carver 2000 [3]).
Fig 2.
Plan of the Mound 1 burial chamber, combined from versions by Phillips [15] and Bruce-Mitford [17] with grey highlighted areas showing locations of the tarry finds listed in Table 1 by inventory number.
Table 1.
Tarry finds from Mound 1 that were re-examined in this study.
Fig 3.
Some of the fragments from Sutton Hoo investigated in this study (BM registration numbers 1939.1010.250 and 1939.1010.251).
Fig 4.
FTIR spectra obtained from tarry materials recovered from Mound 1, Sutton Hoo.
(a) red spectrum = inv 251; blue spectrum = reference specimen of Dead Sea bitumen. (b) red spectrum = inv 255; blue spectrum = inv 252; green spectrum = inv 254; purple spectrum = inv 253. (c) Inv 252 (blue) with reference spectra of cellulose gel (Blanose CMC 7L1EL) and Cassel brown pigment (Kremer 4100).
Fig 5.
Mass chromatograms from Sutton Hoo sample 1939,1010.250 showing distribution of (a) terpanes (m/z 191) with n/3 [tricyclic terpane with n carbon atoms], n/4 [tetracyclic terpane with n carbon atoms], Tm [17α-22,29,30-trisnorhopane], Ts [18α-22,29,30-trisnorneohopane] and n αβH [17α,21β-hopanes with n carbon atoms in R and S configurations] and of (b) steranes with nSt [short chain sterane with n carbon atoms] and Cn [long chain ααα- and αββ- steranes with n carbon atoms in R and S configurations].
Table 2.
Gross composition and molecular ratios for Sutton Hoo and comparative bitumens.
Fig 6.
a) Ternary diagram showing distribution of long chain steranes as % C27 St (C27 αββsteranes R and S), % C28 St (C28 αββSteranes R and S), % C29 St (C29 αββsteranes R and S) [% C27 St = C27 St / C27 St + C28 St + C29 St]. b) cross plot of Ts/Tm and GCR/30αβH. Tm = C27 17α-22,29,30-trisnorhopane; Ts = C27 18α-22,29,30-trisnorneohopane; GCR = gammacerane; 30αβH = C30 17α, 21β(H) hopane. Sutton Hoo bitumen (★), British bitumen from Shropshire (△), Mupe Bay () and Thurso (▲); Dead Sea (■); Syrian (□); Hit, Iraq (●); Hit 16, Iraq (
);Hit-Abu Jir, Iraq (○). For source data see Table 2. The larger symbols and tie lines correspond to average values and their range.
Fig 7.
RTI images of surface morphology on fragments from 1939,1010.251.
Upper images (A, B and C) show concentric rings suggestive of working or worked imprints; lower images show natural fracture surface on the same fragments (D and E) and on a reference specimen of bitumen (F).