Sutton Hoo replica ship build delayed

Volunteers hoping to create a replica of the Anglo-Saxon ship found at Sutton Hoo have had their schedule put back because of the pandemic.

The story of the ship’s discovery in 1939 near Woodbridge, Suffolk, is explored in the hit Netflix film The Dig.

Two oak trees intended for the keel were delivered to the Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company in January.

It had hoped to launch the seaworthy 90ft (27m) replica next year, according to the BBC.

Trustee from The Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company Simon Steel says some work went ahead last year, including “a one-fifth scale model of the ship and a lifesize model of the middle section”.

The latter will be used to try to work out where to put the rowing floor.

“The ship was buried without a rowing floor, so we’re having to work out where we ought to place it – this is experimental archaeology,” says Steel.

The finished ship needs 40 rowers and will stand 5m high.

Two 180-year-old oak trees will form the replica’s keel. Steel hopes work on that might begin at the end of March. Seven tonnes of green oak is needed to complete the ship.