There were inconsistencies in the original publications about the Sutton Hoo finds. I recall that the number of bowls that had been discovered changed from report to report. More significant, perhaps, was how certain objects were described. What exactly is a 'sceptre', say?

And then there's the helmet. Look very closely and you realise how little of it remains. I was at the British Museum once and a guide stopped in front of it and announced to his party, 'There is a poem written about this. It's called Beowulf.'

There's no doubt in my mind, though, about the importance of the burial and its associated finds. That combination of pagan and Christian symbolism. The objects that originated far beyond England. The magnificent metalwork.

This was no ordinary dig.