THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY GRAVE

PEOPLE, PLACES AND FACTS

TIMELINE top

INTRODUCTION top

The Magic History of Britain: The Mystery of the Empty Grave tells how two children, Jane and Sam travel back in time to solve a history mystery. Jane is a young witch whose family has come to live in England from the West Indies. Sam is her best friend, his mum and dad are from Norway. Jane has many hobbies: drama, reading, writing stories and archery. Sam is a wonderful swimmer, ice skater, judo champion and kick boxer who loves computers, making models and mending machines. Jane lives at 2, Aelfred Rd, Axchester, a small English country town. Jane and Sam go to a local school where they suffer from an old fashioned and deadly dull history teacher, Miss Woodhead. 

2, Aelfred Rd is also where lives Uncle John, a famous storyteller who teaches history in a lively and exciting way. Uncle John is a wizard, but a modern one with a wizard microchip in his wizard ring. Uncle John sends Jane and Sam on history mystery trips into the past. These are usually in answer to a plea from Jane to help her with a history task that Miss Woodhead has set because Jane has not paid attention in class. Jane also lives with her family: her mum, dad, and long suffering older sister, Rose. 

The family Mum looks after the family and dad spends most of his time fishing. The family also has three pets who go on Jane and Sam’s adventures: Cleo the cat, Leader a furry spaniel and Cocky Pheasant, a tame bird who lives in the garden. They travel with Jane in a three legged black cauldron that can be shrunk to fit in her pocket. A fourth pet, Boudicca, a second spaniel stays at home because she keeps picking on Leader and makes his life hell.

Magic and the past Magic is a wonderful way of getting inside the past. Through magic Sam and Jane can go anywhere at any time, take place in the most amazing events. They meet, talk and work with men, women and children from the past, both normal people and those who changed the world. Using our imaginations we can travel with them and share in their adventures, just as we do when we read a novel or watch a film. In helping Jane and Sam solve their problems there was a danger of using magic as an easy way of getting them out of trouble. 

Using Magic This I have tried to avoid. Nearly all of the ‘magic’ that Jane uses is possible using modern technology. As you read the stories, see if you can work out what inventions would make her magic work. For example, when I first wrote that Jane’s seeing mirror could show a detailed map of where she was, this seemed pure fantasy. Yet, I have just bought a car that has such a device: satellite navigation! Sam and Jane work as a team. Jane uses her brains to solve problems while Sam often rescues her from danger.

The people in the book It is usual to say that the characters in a book are not based on real people. The Magic History of Britain is different – Jane and her family existed, and I have tried to show them as they really were; for Uncle John died in 1999 and Leader and Boudicca are no longer with us. Melton Hall, where Sam and Jane stay, is a real place where Jane’s real grandfather used to live. Many of the people whom Sam and Jane meet also existed: I have tried to paint as accurate a picture as I can of them, the world they lived and worked in and the problems they faced. To do this I write surrounded with a pile of history books and documents, and I also use the Internet a great deal. It is an amazing, rich archive, full of highly detailed sources that contain evidence about the past.

CHAPTER 1: No. 2 AELFRED ROAD top

2, Aelfred Rd Jane sighed as she hung her satchel and school blazer on the peg in the hall. Another mind numbing day in school, Miss Woodhead their history teacher had been on top form. The lesson on Roman Britain had opened with her talking non stop for thirty minutes and then asking the class to copy into their text books a really boring date chart she had chalked up on the blackboard. When they had finished, she had asked the class,
‘Can anyone tell me what is an archaeologist’. Jane had shot her hand up, 
‘An archaeologist is a person whose career lies in ruins.’ 
Sam had chipped in, ‘Yes, Jane’s dead right, you should see some of the really sad people her dad knows, they are all archaeologists. Most of them have one foot in the grave. Some of the sadder ones even teach history.’

The challenge Miss Woodhead had gone ballistic at their replies. Her eyes were two black dots, she nodded her head rapidly like a woodpecker. When she had calmed down she spat out the awful words,
’You’re both in detention next week.’ 
A second later she had a better idea. She took off her horn rimmed glasses and said, 
‘Jane, seeing as you are so clever, why don’t you and Sam tell us about a real archaeological dig next lesson. You both always seem to have a great deal to say when you have been off on one of your history trips. If you can convince me next lesson that you really know what an archaeologist does, I will scrap your detention. If you can’t, I will double your punishment.’ 
A mean smile crossed her pinched face as she pursed her thin red lips. The class sat in silence, waiting for the bell to ring so they could escape.

Uncle John Jane’s daydream about the nightmare history lesson ended with a shout from the sitting room,
‘Jane, how was school today?’ 
Jane poured out her woes to Uncle John and asked him for help. A smile flickered across Uncle John’s face. Jane knew that he had come up with a great idea again, he was always getting her and Sam out of trouble with Miss Woodhead by sending them off on wonderful History Mystery trips. Uncle John remarked,
‘Please go and get me a glass of that nice new dry white wine, Pinot Grigio your dad bought from Sainsbury’s. While you are doing that I will think of how we might find out about an archaeological dig.’ 
Jane scurried off at once into the kitchen and came back with the wine bottle and a glass. Uncle John filled the glass, and as he sipped the wine he told her what to do.

The evening trip ‘I have the perfect place to send you to find out about one of the most amazing mysteries in British history, the Mystery of the Empty Grave. Perhaps you can come up with the answer to the question, Who was the man or woman who should have been in the empty grave? Mind you, some people even think that the grave wasn’t empty at all, even though there was no body in it when archaeologists first opened it up. I will send you and Sam off on this history mystery trip straight after supper tonight. Make sure that you have everything ready in time.’

Into the past Jane was thrilled at the thought of another trip that would wipe the smile off Miss Woodhead’s face. At once she used her mobile to ring Sam,
‘Come straight round around after supper. Tell your mum that we are going to spend the evening working on a history project that Miss Woodhead has given us to do.’
‘Fine’, said Sam, ‘I had hoped to read a new novel about a boy and girl of our age who had been evacuated from London just before the Second World War to avoid German bombs. They had ended up on an amazing treasure hunt, thwarting a Nazi spy. Never mind, I’ll be round in a few minutes.’

The trip Five minutes later the doorbell ran, Jane rushed to let Sam in. Uncle John was waiting for them in the sitting room. The cauldron by the fire was full of its usual passengers for their History Mystery trips: Cocky Pheasant, Cleo the Cat and Leader, Jane’s tiny, fluffy spaniel who looked like a teddy bear. Jane also wore new magic glasses that she could use along with her seeing mirror. Microphones in the magic glasses’ arms could hear people talking a mile away, tap phones and translate from any language into English. The glasses could also show pictures and play the animatum spell’s recreations of events from the past

The wizard chip ring On her finger was her own special junior wizard micro-chip ring. In it were spells she would use a lot on this trip, archaeologica, pinxit, forensica reconstit and animatum. For reconstit she would use Cleo’s x-ray and ultrasonic vision. Animatum, a brand new spell, could bring the past to life. Jane could see what it showed using the magic glasses she wore. Uncle John turned and told Sam,
‘You are shooting off into the past at once. I expect you back in fifteen minutes time, although you may well spend weeks in the place you are going to.’ 
The clock chimed 7.45. At once the room grew dark, Sam and Jane knew that they were hurtling back into the past to an unknown place.

CHAPTER 2: MELTON HALL, WOODBRIDGE  top

The railway carriage Sam and Jane found themselves sitting in an ancient railway carriage as it rattled and shook along. The carriage lights were on, it was getting dark outside as the sun had just set. Opposite the children sat two middle aged men wearing dark suits, brown walking shoes, white shirts and ties. One had a large square head with short cropped brown hair and a hard, mean face. The other was round faced, plump and cuddly, Jane though that he looked sweet and kind, a bit like Uncle John. Between the two men was a copy of a newspaper, Jane noticed the date, July19th 1939. Sam guessed from the smell of sulphuric smoke that filled the carriage that they were on a steam train. Where were they going? Why? Square head spoke loudly in German, Jane’s magic glasses translated what he said into English.

Professor Schmidt ‘My dear Professor Bersu, I am sure that it is a false alarm about what they have found. These English are always claiming that they have found a Viking grave like those in Norway. No doubt it will be a false alarm. The man in charge of the dig is a gardener, I believe, a Mr Brown. He should stick to digging up potatoes, gardening is the only thing that the British are any good at. We Germans are the only real archaeologists.’
Professor Bersu sucked hard on his pipe, thinking hard about what he had heard. Jane could see that they were not friends. Indeed, a pained look crossed Professor Bersu’s face, he clearly found it difficult to talk to Professor Schmidt. Professor Bersu replied, talking quietly in German. Jane’s glasses translated his words into English.

Professor Bersu ‘Yes, Professor Schmidt, I know that you and your Nazi friends in the German embassy want to prove that it was Germans from Saxony who settled Britain after the Romans left. You even think that deep down the English are really Germans. But I am not sure you are right, and I have always said so. That was one reason your friends forced me to leave Germany.’ 

Invaders and Settlers After the Roman Empire ended the Jutes, Angles and Saxons sailed to settle in Britain from Northern Europe. Within two hunded years these tribes had created a new country and race through marrying native Britons, a country we call England. For the past two thousand years this is what has always happened to races who settle in England, from the Romans to the latest refugees like myself from Germany. However, when we get to Melton near Woodbridge in Suffolk we can go to the site of the archaeological dig and see if they have found a Viking ship. Let us hope that this wretched war does not break out between Germany and Poland. If that happens, we will both have to leave England at once.’

Melton, Woodbridge Jane was listening hard and had a brainwave – she would look at their rail tickets to see where they were going. She fished them out of their envelope, they were also for Melton station. With them was a brief note saying that they were going to live with a Mr and Mrs Richards at Melton Hall. A Mr Lyons would meet them at the station. The letter said that he worked for a Mrs Pretty who lived near Melton. She had agreed that Mr Lyons would pick up Sam and Jane and take them to their new home as Mr Richards’s car was being repaired. In a flash Jane knew that they were being evacuated from London to the country in case war broke out and the Germans bombed London. 

The luggage Jane looked in the luggage rack; there were her and Sam’s brown leather cases with labels on. Leader was at her feet sleeping, Cocky Pheasant and Cleo were in their cages. A transformit spell had turned Leader into a bulldog and Cocky into a canary. Gas masks hung around her and Sam’s necks. Two large printed labels hung from their button holes, it was then she noticed that they said they were going to stay at Melton Hall, Woodbridge in Suffolk.

Melton station A loud shriek on the whistle told them that they were coming in to Melton Station. The train had stopped at every station on the line, the journey had lasted for hours. The two professors in the carriage sat in frosty silence, clearly they had little to say to each other. The train juddered to a halt. Jane said, 
‘Sam, we are at Melton, time to go. Please give me a hand with the suitcases.’
Sam stood up to lift them down. Jane noticed that Professor Schmidt deliberately elbowed him out of the way as he grabbed his heavy case, Sam bit his lip and said nothing. 

The platform The two men and children climbed down from the carriage on to the platform. As Professor Schmidt and Professor Bersu picked up their cases Jane used a mind spell unlockit. Professor Schmidt’s case flew open and his clothes spilled over the ground. It was raining, and a sudden squall blew them this way and that. Professor Schmidt scurried tried to rescue his soaked and muddy clothes, swearing loudly. Professor Bersu commented in German,
‘Perhaps the lock on your suitcase clicked open when you shoved the little boy out of your way.’
Meanwhile Jane and Sam walked on, they could see a man at the station exit holding up a sign with their names on it. 

Mr Lyons The man holding the sign was Mr Lyons. He took their cases, cat basket and bird cage and loaded them into a Rolls Royce. Jane remembered what Professor Bersu had said, and asked,
‘Do you know Mr Brown the gardener who is also working for Mrs Pretty as an archaeologist?’
‘Yes’, came the reply, ‘He is staying with me. Mr Brown used to be a gardener, but now works full time as an archaeologist for Mrs Pretty. I also work for Mrs Pretty as her car driver. We are going to see Mr Brown tomorrow. Mrs Pretty has asked that you both to her house in the morning. She has a young son David and his cousin Clarissa who are your age. Clarissa is on holiday and staying with Mrs Pretty. I am sure that you will all get on well.’

Melton Hall Melton Hall was a large, squat red brick Georgian house in three acres of lawns and gardens with its own swimming pool and walled garden. Around the garden and house was a large wall, a perfect place for Leader to roam. The mansion had six bedrooms. Mr and Mrs Richards, the owners, greeted Sam and Jane and made them welcome. They told the children that they had a gardener, a cook and a maid who lived in the house who would help look after them. 

War Mr Richards remarked,
‘A friend in London rang us up asking if we would let two children she knew stay with us for a month because war with Germany might break out at any moment. We are all afraid that the Germans will bomb London and turn it into a raging inferno. Alice our maid will show you the kitchen where there is a snack waiting. Then she will show you your two rooms.’ 
Jane unpacked her bag to take out her toothbrush, toothpaste and nightie. Inside the bag she found a large brown envelope from Uncle John. 

The envelope and jigsaw puzzle Jane was excited as she tore open the letter. Uncle John had said he would send her a picture of the archaeological dig. As she emptied the envelope’s contents her stomach knotted with fury. No, not again! At once she knew that the three year old little girl whom her sister Rose had been looking after had been hard at work with a pair of scissors. She had chopped the photograph up into bits and stuffed them back into the envelope! As it was too late to do the jigsaw, Jane tumbled into bed. In the room next door Sam had already gone to sleep, Jane could hear a terrible snoring that shook the windows. Despite the row, Jane was soon asleep.

Breakfast Next morning the breakfast gong woke Sam and Jane at 8.00. They washed, dressed and went downstairs for a breakfast of scrambled egg, tea or fruit juice and toast and marmalade. After breakfast it was time to visit Mrs Pretty’s house. Mr Lyons was waiting outside the front door with a car. It was a beautiful old Rolls Royce, the chrome glistened in the morning sun. 

The journey ‘Jump in,’ said Mr Lyons, ‘It is a ten minute drive to Mrs Pretty’s house on the other side of the River Deben.’ 
As they drove across the bridge over the Deben Jane realised it was high tide, Melton was at the head of the Deben estuary where the river flowed into the sea. After a mile the car turned through two stone gateposts into a long drive. By the entrance to the drive stood a pretty white cottage,
‘This is where I am living with Mr Brown’, said Mr Lyons. As they approached Mrs Pretty’s house, Jane checked that leader was curled up at her feet and that Cocky Pheasant and Cleo were safe in the cauldron in her pocket and her shrinkit spell meant that the cauldron was the size of a thimble.

CHAPTER 3: THE HOUSE ON THE RIVER DEBEN top

The house and field The car pulled up in front of a huge, white Victorian mansion whose bow windows looked out over the River Deben. As the children and Leader climbed down from the cart Jane turned to Sam,
‘Look at the fantastic views down the winding river estuary to the sea. I bet the Vikings rowed their fleets of long ships up the river and landed about here to raid the local Saxon villages. They would have stormed up this ridge of high sandy heath land to rob, kill and burn. Leader will have a great time in racing around the field that surrounds the house.’

The field Sam noticed that in the corner of the huge field in front of the house there were some grass covered mounds. Perfect for Leader to hunt in and for them to play games. Behind the field was a thick wood of dark green pine trees. Mr Lyons knocked on the house’s door, a maid answered and asked the children to come inside.

Mrs Pretty The maid showed Jane and Sam into a sitting room. A thick, plush woven wool carpet covered the floor, in one corner stood a large grandfather clock. Paintings covered the walls. There were two large leather armchairs and a couple of leather sofas. By the fire stood a slim, medium height lady wearing a cream blouse, matching thick tweed coat and jacket. Her dark brown straight hair was neatly cut, her dark brown eyes sparkled and she had a pleasant smile on her face. Jane guessed she must be Mrs Pretty. By her side was a middle aged man. Behind her stood a boy and girl who were Sam’s and Jane’s age. They both smiled, clearly they were looking forward to Jane and Sams’ visit.

The welcome Mrs Pretty spoke in a quiet clear piercing voice that Sam thought was just like the Queen’s. 
‘Welcome, I hope that you have a lovely time with David and Clarissa and Mr Basil Brown. David and Clarissa are dying to show you round the woods. There are plenty of places to explore. They also have a playroom full of toys and games. There is plenty for you to do. If there is anything you want or would like to do, please ask. Mr Lyons will return later today with the car to take you back to Melton Hall.’
She paused for a second, looking hard at Jane and then continued,

Mr Brown & the archaeological dig ‘Mr Brown will be keeping an eye on you. Today is a very special one for us both, we are about to find out what might be at the bottom of a Viking boat that Basil has just found in one of the burial mounds on my land. A group of archaeologists has come from London to help us, they will be excavating the burial chamber at the bottom of the boat.’
Jane guessed that the man standing behind Mrs Pretty must be Basil Brown, her archaeologist. At once Sam thought that the ship was in one of the mounds he had spotted in the corner of the field. Was it a treasure ship? Gold, silver and jewels. Would they be able to find out what the ship might have contained? 

The burial mound Jane listened carefully to what Mrs Pretty said. She knew that this was where Uncle John had sent them. And, she could not help wonder if horrid Professor Schmidt and the nice Professor Bersu were members of the group of archaeologists who were about to excavate the burial mound. 
‘Mrs Pretty, would it be possible to visit the burial mound and see what is going on? On the train we met two archaeologists – perhaps they are part of the team that will be excavating the burial mound? We wouldn’t get in the way and could even help. When I grow up I want to be an archaeologist, it is a lovely job.’

Basil Brown looked hard at Jane. He wore a dark grey loose fitting suit, black lace up shoes and a starched white shirt and tie. A slim skinny man, his short thinning brown hair was parted neatly. Two dark brown eyes darted from side to side, peering from a long thin hawk like face with a sharp pointed nose and jutting jaw. Jane couldn’t help thinking that he looked a bit like a ferret hunting a rabbit. Mrs Pretty looked at him. Basil coughed and said,

The children and the excavation ‘There can be no harm in the children joining us. They might even be able to keep an eye on Professor Schmidt. The German embassy has sent him to help, but with all this talk of war, we don’t know what he might be up to.’
Mrs Pretty smiled warmly and remarked,
‘Right then. David and Clarissa, take Jane and Sam for a walk with Jane’s dog Leader. No doubt later in the morning we will see you at the burial mound. The maid has packed a special picnic lunch for us all, I earlier sent her to Woodbridge to get chocolate cake, currant and cream buns and bottles of lemonade. She and the butler will lay out lunch by the burial mound.’

CHAPTER 4: THE FIR WOOD & HEADLAND  top

The visit For Jane the rest of the morning passed in a whirl. On the way to the fir wood the children passed through a field full of sheep, Leader ran away yapping in terror when one of the sheep charged towards him. The fir wood stood looking out over the estuary of the River Deben. Jane peeped at her seeing mirror, the archaeologica mind spell showed where the sea had reached in Roman, Saxon and Viking times. Just below them would have been a bay, a perfect harbour for sea-going boats that had sailed across the North Sea from Denmark, Sweden or Norway. The animatum spell showed half a dozen sea going long boats anchored just off the shore. 

The wood Once in the wood David and Clarissa showed Sam and Jane a squirrel’s dray, a set where badgers lived and an empty buzzard’s nest. Rabbits scuttled away into the undergrowth, Leader chased after them without a hope of catching one. The wood was a dark and mysterious place, full of winding, overgrown ancient paths, burial spots and hiding places. At one spot Jane felt sure local Saxons had fought a bloody battle with Viking raiders. At another she could hear the wind whistling through the trees, she knew it was a place of human sacrifice. Turning to David and Clarissa she asked,

The place name ‘Do you have any idea what this ghostly wood is called and the heath land and fields around it?’ David piped up at once,
‘Yes, the area is known as Sutton Hoo – the same name as our house. Why do you ask?’ 
Sam butted in,
‘Jane is thinking like a history detective. One thing that historians look at is the meaning of place names. They are clues about the people who used to live here. Jane has a photographic memory for the meaning of place names.’
‘Ouch’, Jane cried, ‘I have got a fly in the corner of my eye and need to get rid of it.’ 
As Sam stopped talking, from her pocket Jane fished out her cotton polka spot dotted hankie and her seeing mirror.

Sutton Hoo The other children thought that she was using the mirror to take the fly out of her eye. Instead, with a mind-spell she asked her seeing mirror for the meaning of local Saxon and Viking place names. A second later the seeing mirror’ place names dictionary flashed up the words.
Su [Anglo Saxon] = southern 
Tun [Anglo Saxon] = a farm in a clearing in the woods
Hoo [Anglo Saxon] = a headland, often where there is a burial mound
Harrow [Anglo Saxon] = a pagan temple.
So, could this be a place where there might have been a burial mound and a pagan temple! 

The argument Jane told the others about the place-name evidence. As they walked back through the woods towards the burial mounds they chatted furiously about what the clues might mean. David and Sam could only think of tall, dark sinister temples with priests wearing black gowns and robes, making bloody sacrifices of animals, birds and people to the ancient Saxon and Viking god of war, the one eyed Odin. 

Odin David talked of Odin’s guards, two coal black ravens and two giant fierce wolves that tore out the throats of his enemies. He also said three foul old women witches, the Valkryies, took dead warriors to meet Odin in the Viking heaven, Valhalla. With a gulp Jane remembered that Odin was the Saxons’ and Vikings’ great wizard, an evil god of magic. In a flash she realised the Odin was the god worshipped in the temple close to where they were standing. Clarissa argued that all this was fantasy, all the clues said was that this might be a place where there were burials from Saxon and Viking times.

The burial mound As they approached the burial mound Jane’s spine tingled with terror, she could feel the presence of ghouls and ghosts. The icy hand that gripped her stomach meant that it was a place of evil despair, violent death and burial. The four children climbed a style on the edge of the wood and found themselves on the edge of heath land close to a wooden garden shed. The heath land was about 200 metres long and 100 metres wide, full of about twenty large sandy humps and mounds full or rabbit holes. Jane’s mind spell turned Cocky Pheasant into a skylark who soared above the heath. He sent down a detailed map of over twenty burial mounds to Jane’s seeing mirror. Cocky could also map what was below the ground, he sent back an plan of the site below the surface that showed gold and silver objects buried in many of the mounds.

The giant mound One mound was much bigger than the others, twenty metres long and at least three metres high. On one side of this mound David spotted a giant heap of freshly dug sand, it had clearly come from a trench cut into the top of the mound. On the edge of the trench stood a dozen people, looking down into it. Jane could recognise Mrs Pretty, Mr Brown and the two men they had met on the train, she guessed the others were the archaeologists Mrs Pretty had mentioned. Mrs Pretty turned, saw them and waved to them to come and join the grownups.

The trench David and Clarissa led the way as the children picked their way through the long grass and thistles to where the grown ups were standing. In a minute they were all standing on the edge of the trench. At once they could see it was the same as the cut up photograph Uncle John had given Jane. The trench was over 30 metres long and 4 metres wide. In the soil they could see the clear outline of a huge boat.
‘Gosh, it’s a bit like a Viking boat’, said Jane, ‘Just like the ones that archaeologists have found in Norway. Isn’t it similar to the huge boat at Gokstadt and the Oseber vessel that was the grave of a Viking queen?’
The adults all turned to stare at the little girl, they all thought, how on earth could she know about Viking burial boats?

Professor Schmidt Professor Schmidt believed that all young girls should belong to the Hitler Youth and learn about cooking, housework and looking after boys, ideas that did not appeal to Clarissa and Jane. With a look of contempt on his face he turned to Professor Bersu and spat out something in German. Jane’s magic glasses translated what he said into English,
‘She is a silly little girl. To her it might look like a Viking ship, but I am sure it came from an area of modern Germany. It was from there that German settlers came to conquer and settle Britain.’
Jane seethed with anger, but bit her tongue as Professor Bersu replied in German.

Professor Bersu ‘Not so, Professor Schmidt, the girl is right. This boat and the burial mounds are very like those in Norway and Sweden. There is nothing like them in Germany. I fear that your loyalty to Hitler is clouding your brain. It is clear that the little girl knows more about this subject than you do.’ He then repeated politely what Professor Schmidt had said to him, and his answer.
Mrs Pretty and the archaeologists all grinned and laughed. Sam thought that Professor Schmidt was about to burst, throbbing veins stood out on his forehead and his eyes blazed as he dug his nails into his palm. Before he could say a word, Mrs Pretty turned to Basil Brown and said crisply,

Lunch ‘Basil, it is time for lunch. The butler and maid have already laid out the hamper on the trestle table.’ 
The group of archaeologists and the children all trooped off to a large trestle table loaded with the fresh cakes Mrs Pretty had ordered that morning, piles of egg, ham and cucumber sandwiches, mugs of steaming tea and glasses of lemonade. Everyone was starving, soon they were all eating off plates piled high with the delicious food. Jane could not help think about what might be buried in the middle of the ship. She had spotted a flat area where there was no boat outline – was it a burial chamber? Might it contain a body and treasure?

CHAPTER 5: THE BURIAL MOUND top

The meeting Lunch was over. The maid had cleared away the remains of the picnic and the dirty dishes, mugs, cutlery and glasses. The other archaeologists, Mrs Pretty and the children gathered around the man in charge of the excavation, Charles Phillips. Charles Phillips was a famous archaeologist from Cambridge University. A very tall, heavily built man, he wore a tweed jacket, baggy cord trousers, a white shirt and bow tie. To help him he had asked six friends to come from all over Britain. 

The archaeologists The German embassy had also rung him up to say that it had heard of the dig and that a famous German archaeologist, Professor Schmidt, would like to join him. Mr Chambers, who knew of but had never met Professor Schmidt, said yes. Professor Phillips’s friends, including Professor Bersu, were Britain’s leading archaeologists. For the next two weeks they would be working with him and Basil Brown to excavate the burial mound. Silence fell as Professor Phillips began to speak about what they would do.

The plan ‘I think that we might be looking at a burial chamber in the middle of the boat. It is clear that it might stretch from rib 10 to rib 16 of the boat, a distance of about five metres. The best thing is for us to divide the chamber up using the line of the keel and the ribs. That will give us twelve rectangles, we will start working on them tomorrow. The four children can help us, because they are so small their weight will not damage any of the grave goods buried in the soil. We will use trowels, glue and pastry brushes, penknives and dustpans to clear away the sand and soil. Before we start we must make sure that the whole dig is photographed as we go along, that we have a wire grid to record where things are found and that we keep a detailed diary of the dig.’

Jane’s record Jane was thrilled to be able to take part in the dig. She knew that her wizard micro-chip’s archaeologica spell could let her, Cocky Pheasant and Cleo take photographs and x-rays of the remains surviving in the ground while the reconstit spell would recreate what they would have looked like when new. The chip’s forensica spell would also give scientific information about the remains and how old they were. Even better, the pixit spell would paint pictures from the past, bringing scenes to life. And, Uncle John’s new spell, animatum would bring the past back to life. The seeing mirror could work just like a DVD player while her magic glasses meant she would hear what was going on and what people said. And, she would keep a detailed electronic diary, a website, of the dig inside her seeing mirror..

Any Questions Mr Phillips asked if there were any questions. Professor Schmidt was leaning on the trestle table, and butted in at once,
‘If, as I believe, this is a German burial ship like the one in the famous poem Beowulf, then it will show that we Germans colonised and ruled Britain after the Romans. At that time you British were all German subjects. There is one question that I would like to ask – if what we find proves to be a German treasure, who will own it? Will it go back to its home in our national Nazi museum in Berlin? Or will it, like the great treasures from Ancient Greece, be stolen and end up on display in the British Museum in London?’

Treasure trove Mr Phillips looked up and smiled, 
‘My dear Schmidt, I know that you love your fuehrer Herr Hitler and would like to show that the British and Germans are blood brothers, but you are rushing ahead. If there should be a treasure, there will be a court case to decide who should own it. If it is decided that this is a grave and the goods were to go with the man or woman buried there into their next life, then Mrs Pretty will own the treasure as it was found on her land. If it was buried for someone else to use later, then it will belong to the British government. Then it will be what we call treasure trove.’

Professor Schmidt Professor Bersu shifted his weight from foot to foot as he bit his tongue, he would love to tell Professor Schmidt what he thought of him and his Nazis . They had driven him, his family and friends from Germany. Jane knew how upset Professor Bersu was and had used her mind spell to get Leader to creep up to Professor Schmidt. Everyone except Professor Schmidt could see the dog and what he was doing. A second later Professor Schmidt howled with rage, a warm wet trickle was running down his trouser leg. Leader had disappeared out of sight under the table, everyone laughed, Mrs Pretty remarked,

Mrs Pretty ‘Professor Schmidt, in talking about your beloved fuehrer and waving your arms around, you have spilled a bottle of very warm and smelly vinegar down your trousers. Clearly you need to get cleaned up. I think that we should all go back to the house and get ready to start digging early tomorrow. I will make sure that the children are here to help us. I expect that it will take us a couple of weeks to excavate such a large area. Luckily the weather is dry and warm at present.’

CHAPTER 6: BURIED TREASURE top

Breakfast Jane and Sam were up early next day and wolfed down their breakfast. The cook had packed them a lovely picnic; they and their picnic basket were waiting on the doorstep when the car arrived at 8.00 to take them from Melton Hall to the dig. At Sutton Hoo House they met Clarissa and David, they were going to spend all day helping the archaeologists. David and Clarissa were still eating breakfast; cereals, bacon and scrambled eggs and yummy toast running with butter and jam or marmalade. Sam and Jane joined them for a glass of lemonade. 

History detectives When David and Clarissa had finished pigging their food, the four children chatted about the dig. They were dead keen to learn how to work as archaeologists, perhaps they might even find some buried treasure. When they had finished talking, Sam took charge:
‘The first thing we should do is come up with a list of questions we want answered, just like we do when working as history detectives. In archaeology the clues are buried in the ground.’
Clarissa picked up his idea,
‘Brill! Let’s go upstairs to my bedroom where I have some paper and pencils. I am happy to write down our questions.’

The questions In the bedroom the children came up with question after question – Clarissa scribbled them all down in a long list. Jane read them out, and then they agreed on the most exciting:
1. What was buried in the burial chamber?
2. Who was buried there?
3. Why was he or she buried?
4. What was he or she like?
5. How can we find out about him or her?
6. When was the burial?
7. What happened at the funeral?
At that point the doorbell ran - Basil Brown had arrived to take them to the dig.

The dig When they arrived at the burial mound the archaeologists were getting ready to dig up different parts of the burial chamber. Jane had already stored a plan of the burial plan in her seeing mirror’s memory chip. The chamber was six metres long and three metres wide. The boat’s keel ran West to East smack down the middle of the chamber. On each side of the keel were seven ribs poking out at 90 degrees. So, that made twelve rectangles. Those to the north of the keel she numbered A1-A6 and those to the south B1-B6. As the dig went on she would build up a detailed map of what was in the grave.

The burial Jane knew that when the archaeologists excavated the objects in the grave she would be able to use her reconstit spell to see what they were like when new.. With her pixit painting spell she would be able to recreate the burial: the digging of the burial mound, the placing of the ship in it and the funeral. Even better, animatum would bring each scene to life, just like a television documentary or play.

Professor Schmidt As most of the archaeologists were beginning to excavate, Jane could see Professors Schmidt and Bersu in the distance. They had gone for a walk to look at the other burial mounds before beginning work on their rectangle. Jane could hear Professor Schmidt ranting on in German at Professor Bersu. Her magic glasses with their microphones meant she could hear every word. She just couldn’t believe it, Professor Schmidt sounded just like her dreadful history teacher, Miss Woodhead. His voice was even like hers, it got shriller and shriller as he wagged his finger at poor Professor Bersu.

The rant ‘I keep telling you. This will be the burial ship of a king who came from the area of modern Germany. German tribes sailed across the North Sea in huge numbers in the hundred years after the Roman Empire collapsed. This German king’s tribe would have conquered and settled this region. The British Celts who had lived here under the Romans would have become its slaves. They would have lived like farm animals, doing anything their German masters wanted.’

Mr Chambers Unknown to Professor Schmidt Mr Chambers could also understand German and he had also overheard the rant. Mr Chambers spoke up, a note of anger in his voice,
‘Professor Schmidt, there is no evidence to support your claims. I am amazed that you do not seem to have read the latest research findings. We now believe that the Germanic tribes who landed here settled down to live alongside the natives. Before long they had created a new civilisation and society – that of the English. English history is a success story of how over time all invaders and settlers become Britons.

Working as archaeologists Mr Chambers looked relieved at the arrival of Mr Brown and the children and made them most welcome, 
‘Good morning, I am glad that you have come to help us, we have just begun to excavate the burial chamber. You can help me and Mr Brown.’. 
At that second there was a shout, one of the diggers had used her trowel to reveal a small gold piece of jewellery studded with black and red precious stones. Mr Chambers rushed over, looked at it in wonder, and muttered, ‘My godfathers!’
Everyone gathered around, talking excitedly. Would this be the first piece of a great treasure? Who had made it? When? Why had it been buried?

The children at work After ten minutes everyone had gone back to work. Mr Chambers was still flushed with excitement, hopping from one leg to the other. He calmed down and gave each of the children a pastry brush and showed them how to clean the objects the archaeologists had photographed and recorded on a detailed grid where they had been buried. Once clean, each object was wrapped in cotton wool and placed in a box with a label on it. Jane also noted down and stored everything that was excavated and where it was found on her seeing mirror plan. 

The excavation The archaeologists and children worked flat out until late afternoon. Excitement mounted as new objects were found. Each time the archaeologists gathered round to admire it, the first was a giant silver dish. As the day’s digging ended, Mr Chambers said,
‘These treasures are priceless. To make sure they won’t be stolen we can put them in Mrs Pretty’s safe. Children, you have been a great help. We would love you to come back tomorrow. You are so skilled at cleaning the objects and packing them away.’

Tea As the day’s digging was over, Jane, Sam, Clarissa and David went back to Melton Hall for a feast of scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam, tea and fruit juice with Mrs Pretty. They were all starving; within five minutes not a crumb was left. Between mouthfuls they talked about the treasure they had found, and what answers it gave to the questions they had asked. Mrs Pretty said,
‘Don’t worry about the treasure, it is safe with me. Alas, there is too much of it to fit in the safe. So, I will hide it under my bed tonight. I look forward to seeing you both in the morning, Mr Lyons will call for you at 8.00. Please call at the house when you arrive, then we can all go to the dig.’

CHAPTER 7: THE BURIAL CHAMBER AND EMPTY GRAVE top

The dig So, each morning for the next nine days Jane and Sam left Melton Hall with their picnics for the dig. Every day was like the most fantastic treasure hunt you could imagine. The excited archaeologists excavated an endless stream of gold and silver bowls, plates, jewels, weapons and other goods such as buckets, cauldrons and bottles. Throughout an excited Mrs Pretty sat on the edge of the treasure trench in a comfortable wicker chair, wearing a large sun hat. 

The treasure The treasure’s decorations in coloured glass, copper, gold wire, precious stones, solid silver and gold revealed a world of twisting snakes, writhing monsters, ducks, swans, bird’s heads, wild boars with curved razor sharp tusks and dragons. The children beavered away with their pastry brushes, clearing the objects. Mr Chambers told them,
‘This is clearly a king’s treasure. There must have been a royal workshop with carpenters and wood carvers, weavers and needlewomen and iron, silver and goldsmiths and jewellers to make most of the king’s treasure. It is as rich as that of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. It is the greatest treasure ever found in England.’

The burial chamber and Professor Schmidt Jane used her forensica spell to work out that the dark stains in the soil where the treasure was buried were the wooden remains of a burial chamber. With her reconstit spell she was able to see what it was like and tell Clarissa:
‘The chamber was like a giant garden shed, a bit like dad’s, but not so ramshackle. The dead person’s goods had been stacked against the chamber’s two end walls and along the keel that ran down the chamber’s middle.’

The treasure By the end of the tenth day of digging the burial chamber was empty. Jane had recorded 263 objects on the plan in her seeing mirror. Each one had its own grid reference, she would be able to recreate what the burial chamber had been like at the time of the funeral. The grave goods ranged from pillows and a board game to swords and spears. Cleo’s x-ray eyes had photographed all of the objects, the reconstit spell showed what they looked like when new. 

Professor Schmidt But, Jane noticed that Professor Schmidt was also keeping a diary in which he jotted down the main finds. Jane asked David and Sam :
‘What do you think he is up to? Why do you think he is making a detailed list of things that we have found? Can you make sure that you keep an eye on him.’
To make sure that he did not get up to any mischief she was able to use her transformit spell to turn Cocky Pheasant into a tiny bug the size of pea. Cocky flew off and hid under the professor’s shirt collar. He would transmit anything the professor said or heard to Jane, including telephone calls. 

The excavation plan At the end of each day the children went back to Mrs Pretty’s house for tea. After the maid had cleared tea away, they went up to Clarissa’s bedroom. Jane had drawn a plan of the burial chamber, showing the twelve rectangles, A1-A6 and B1-B6. Each rectangle was 1.5 metres long and 1 metre wide. Each day Jane put on the plan all of the things that had been found, using information stored in her seeing mirror 

The children’s questions On the last day Clarissa took out the list of seven questions the children had drawn up before the dig started and asked:
‘What answers do these clues give us to our questions? And, does anything strike you about where the mourners placed the goods in the grave?’
Clarissa looked at Jane’s completed plan. She grew more and more excited, and blurted, 
‘Jane, what do you think were the most important things that the mourners placed in the grave? And why?’
Jane sat quietly for a second. She used her photographic memory to flash up pictures of the objects when new and being used. Slowly she answered the question they had first asked:

What was buried in the burial chamber? 
‘At the west end in rectangles A1 and B1 the main things are spears, a shield, an iron standard, a king’s stone sceptre, a lyre, [a stringed musical instrument] sitting in a bronze bowl and ten beautiful silver bowls. Along the keel, between A2-4 and B2-B4 you can see a helmet, sword, dagger, drinking horns, a solid gold belt buckle, a purse full of gold coins, the remains of a cloak and a strap for hanging a sword from. Towards the east end of the chamber in A5-A6 and B5-B6 is a pile of clothes, a suit of chain mail, pillows, shoes, combs, a pottery bottle, a lamp and an axe hammer. They sit under a huge solid silver dish in which are the ashes of animals, perhaps the man’s favourite horse and dog. Stacked against the east wall of the chamber they piled a bucket and tub, a great cooking cauldron and a long chain to hang it from the ceiling.’

The mystery of the empty grave: who was buried there? Sam joined in, 
‘Jane, there is one huge problem. Where is the body? What I think is that if you cut out a shape of a man or woman and place it along the keel you can see how all the goods fit around his or her body. As there are so many weapons in the grave, I think the grave must have been for a man. Jane, are there any clues about why there is no body? Can you solve the mystery of the empty grave?’

The body Jane was silent for a second. She had already used her forensica spell to search for any clues, it looked at each of the 263 objects in turn.
‘The soil the boat was buried in is very acidic, a bit like vinegar. Do you remember that ghastly murder we solved where the killer dissolved the body in an acid bath? Here the acid might have eaten away the body that was placed there. Indeed, on the sword and helmet was a large amount of a chemical called phosphorus. Phosphorus is what is left when a body decays in acid soil. But, we cannot be absolutely sure that someone was buried there.’

CHAPTER 8: THE KING’S BURIAL top

The burial Clarissa turned to Jane and asked, 
‘What was the king and his burial like?’
Jane loaded her new spell animatum into her seeing mirror. It brought the funeral to life.
Sam remarked,
‘Jane, can you tell us the story of what might have happened on the day of the burial.’
As Sam talked to Jane the animatum spell showed her key scenes throughout the day. She sat down, looked up and began her story.

The burial chamber ‘It is a warm, dry sunny day. I can see butterflies and ladybirds feeding on the flowers. The mourners have dragged the huge burial ship up from the sea and fitted it snug and safe into the burial trench. Carpenters have built a large wooden shed, a burial chamber, inside the boat. And, inside the burial chamber is a large open oak coffin: Raedwald’s short stocky body lies inside wrapped in a shroud. On the ground outside the boat stand piles of goods the mourners will place inside the chamber and coffin. Around the boat are thirty men and women. The men wear cloaks and swords, the women long flowing dresses. They are members of Raedwald’s family and his tribal chiefs. A grey haired woman is in charge of them. It is his wife, a devout Christian lady.

The royal kitchen & pantry The queen has given orders for two of the men to take a huge cauldron, two smaller cauldrons and a long chain and hang them on two pegs on the east end wall of the chamber. These goods mean that Raedwald’s servants will be able to prepare feasts for him and his guests when he goes to heaven.’
Jane stops talking for a second, she is thirsty, and takes a swig out of a bottle of lemonade. She clears here throat and carries on. 

Raedwald’s possessions ‘Now the queen is telling her two youngest sons to take their father’s personal goods to put them in his coffin. 
By his feet the older boy puts an axe hammer – if the boat leaks on its journey Raedwald will be able to repair it! Next to the hammer is a leather jerkin, a horn cup, two tiny hanging bowls, a wooden bowl and a pillow. Look, a ladybird has just climbed into the pillow. The pillow is resting on top of two pairs of slippers. 
The second son carries Raedwald’s mail coat, it is propped up at the coffin’s end. 
Raedwald’s favourite personal slave is carrying a third armful of grave goods. There is a leather coat with two buckles, a fluted silver bowl, combs, knives with horn handles, seven ointment bottles and an otter fur cap. Raedwald will be able to shave, wash and be sweet smelling when he gets up each day in heaven. If he wants to go away for a time, the slave has just put a small leather travelling bag on top of the pile.

The coffin lid The queen has given another order. Four of Raedwald’s chief thanes carry the coffin lid, place it on top of the coffin and hammer in ten nails on each side to make sure it is fastened tightly. Two other men carry a huge silver dish from the Middle East to put on the east end of the coffin – on it are the ashes of his favourite dogs and horse and a cooked meal. He will not go hungry on his voyage, and once in heaven his hunting animals will come back to life. Clearly Raedwald will hold a party when he reaches the next world, for the two men now place two giant drinking horns and on the coffin’s side. 

The king’s weapons and regalia A richly dressed man is kneeling in front of the queen. He must be Raedwald’s oldest son, the new king, she is blessing him like a priestess. He has just stood up and is carrying all of Raedwald’s weapons, standard, belt and purse to the west end of the burial chamber. 
With great care he puts two long spears by the coffin’s side. By the king’s head he puts his shield with its dragon and hawk decorations, his tall iron standard, eight more spears and a magic bowl from North Africa with engraved pictures of a lion, camel and donkey. On top of the coffin he places the king’s personal weapons, an amazing broad sword with jewelled handle and a razor sharp dagger. By the sword he puts down Raedwald’s solid gold belt buckle and purse with forty coins and bars of gold. And then he drapes over them the king’s sword belt with its glistening jewel fasteners. The final object he hangs from the wall: the king’s lyre. The king will use it when chanting poems like Beowulf, telling stories and singing songs.’ 

The queen As Jane talked the picture clouded over, a second later it cleared. She carried on:
‘The queen steps forward with a man just behind dressed as a Christian priest. He is carrying the final objects, a little bell on a collar, the king’s helmet, his royal stone sceptre and a pile of small silver bowls and a pair of spoons.’ 
Jane realises that the collar and bell are like the one leader wore before he lost them – they must have been for Raedwald’s favourite doggy, now a pile of ashes at the other end of the coffin. 

The queen’s speech In a shaking voice Jane continues, 
‘All of the mourners are standing around the grave, heads bowed in silence. The queen has walked forward, and placed the dog’s collar and bell, the king’s helmet and sceptre above Raedwald’s head. Above Raedwald’s right arm she has put the silver bowls with Christian crosses that he will use at Christian dinners in heaven, and the two silver spoons for Paul and Saul that she gave him when he converted to Christianity. 
Everything is in place. She turns to the priest and asks him to lead the mourners in prayer. The priest’s booming voice rings out,

The prayer ‘Let us pray for the soul of our beloved lord and master, he is now in heaven with his maker. He was the kindest of kings, a great warrior, protector of the poor, kind and generous, a true Christian. May his soul live in eternal grace.’
The mourners sink to their knees and pray in silence for Raedwald’s soul.’
At this point the seeing mirror clouded over, the service was over. As Jane stopped, David spoke up, 

‘What about the answers to our other questions?' 
Jane looked up, frowned, and said: 
‘Although we have the clues found in the grave, there could well be other evidence that will help us find answers. Mr Chambers has said he will bring it to the lunch we are all having at Mrs Pretty’s house tomorrow. We are all meeting for lunch at Mrs Pretty’s house to see what might happen to the treasure and solve the mystery of the empty grave. All the other archaeologists will be there except Professor Schmidt – he has gone to the German Embassy for the day. Mr Chambers would love to know why.’ 
The doorbell rang, Mr Lyons had arrived to take Sam and Jane back to Melton Hall.

CHAPTER 9: THE COURT OF HISTORY top

The dig ends The dig was over, the diggers had put away their trowels, buckets, measuring rods, grids, brushes, pens, pencils, notebooks and paper. The treasure was neatly packed away in boxes, each one labelled. The treasure was safe in Mrs Pretty’s house. For the last time Mrs Pretty was sitting in her wicker chair overlooking the empty burial chamber. The archaeologists and children gathered around her, she had something to say.

The invitation I have had a most wonderful two weeks. You are all most welcome to come to lunch tomorrow at Sutton Hoo house. You can then advise me about the future of the treasure. What you say may well determine its future. And, Mr Chambers, if you can ask your expert on coins to attend, that would be a big help. It would also be useful for us to consult any other evidence that might throw light on the mystery of the empty grave.’
Mrs Pretty and the children went back to Sutton Hoo house, Jane and Sam would spend the rest of the day playing games with David and Clarissa. As usual Mrs Pretty’s car came after supper to take Jane and Sam back to Melton House. 

The lunch party Next morning the car picked Sam and Jane up in time for lunch at Sutton Hoo House. By 12.30 all of Mrs Pretty’s guests had arrived and were sitting round the dining room table. Jane noticed a dowdy elderly woman she did not know next to Mrs Pretty. Sam and Clarissa recognised Professors Bersu and Schmidt, Mr Brown, Mr Chambers and two other archaeologists who were sitting with a stranger. Jane guessed he must be Mr Chambers’ friend, the coins expert from the British Museum. Professor Schmidt was wearing a black jacket with swastika buttons, white shirt and tie, flannel trousers with knife edge creases and gleaming, highly polished black shoes. He looked smug and happy, Jane wondered why. What had he been up to? She knew that he had just come back from the German Embassy. 

Lunch Everyone around the lunch tale was chattering about the amazing treasure that they had excavated over the last ten days. Who owned it? What would happen to it? Might it even be sold to a rich American? One thing was certain – the British government would not be willing to buy it. The discussions continued as the butler and a maid served lunch. First there was a steaming bowl of fresh vegetable soup, and then a massive plate of roast beef, roast potatoes, carrots, sprouts, beans and parsnips with lashing of gravy followed. Sam and David had just enough room left for giant helpings of apple pie, custard and cream. The maid had arrived to clear away when Mrs Pretty announced,

The library ‘Let us move to the library for coffee and to discuss who might own the treasure from the burial chamber. As you know, it is safe and sound, stored in boxes in my study, but it can’t stay there for ever. We have to decide what we think might happen to it.’
As everyone settled down in comfy leather chairs with their cups of coffee Mr Chambers asked for silence. Mrs Pretty had asked him to take charge of the meeting. He stood up, his hands thrust into the pockets of his cord trousers: 
A worried look crossed his creased and crumpled face. Jane knew he feared that the great treasure was in danger of leaving the country. All that could be heard was the tick, tock, tick, tock of the cuckoo clock that hung on the wall just above his head. When everyone was sitting comfortably, Mr Chambers began,

Treasure trove ‘We have to decide if the treasure belongs to Mrs Pretty or the British government. If the grave diggers planned to come back for it, then it is the government’s. If the grave diggers intended that it should be buried for ever, then it is Mrs Pretty’s. She will be able to do what she likes with it. We know that rich Americans would love to buy it. And, I am sure that our government will not put up the money for the British Museum to purchase it. We can think of ourselves as a jury in the court of history. First we need to hear the evidence and in our minds cross examine the witnesses. Then we can decide who we think owns the treasure.’

The evidence Mr Chambers went on:
‘Í have brought with me three main kinds of evidence:
o the dates of the coins in the large purse buried in the grave, 
o a map showing both where the grave goods, including the coins, might have come from and other burial mounds in Europe and
o written sources from the Saxon and Viking period that throw light on the Sutton Hoo burial
We can use the sources to help answer the questions we asked: did the grave diggers intend the treasure to stay in the ground for ever, or would someone come back for it later? I will call each of these ‘witnesses’ in turn. Tomorrow morning the treasure goes to London for safe keeping, tonight it will stay here. Would anyone like to say anything before we begin?’

Professor Schmidt As Mr Chambers sat down, Professor Schmidt spoke,
‘Although we all know that war might break out at any moment between Germany and Britain, I would like to announce that if the treasure turns out to belong to Mrs Pretty and not the British government, the German government will be willing to buy it from her at any price. It will then go on display in our national museum in Berlin. We Germans think of the English as blood brothers. I have talked with Germany’s experts on burial ships and the period when German tribes conquered Britain. They are all convinced that the king and his tribe who built the mound were from Germania – the area of modern Germany. The boat in the burial mound is typical of the sea going vessels that the German tribes used after the fall of the Roman Empire to sail to Britain. 

The response The room sat in stunned silence. A look of horror crossed Mr Chambers’ face. Mrs Pretty sat as rigid as a statue, she clenched her fists so tight that her knuckles were white. At that moment the clock hand reached two o’clock. The front of the clock flew open and chimed cuckoo! cuckoo! Professor Bersu grinned and remarked,
. ‘Professor Schmidt, I think that the clock has spoken for us all.’ 
The meeting burst into laughter. When the laughter died down, Mr Chambers said, 
‘The first witness that I would like us to call is Mr Kent, an expert on the coins in the purse found in the grave. He has prepared a map showing where the coins were from. I have also put on the map where there are other burial mounds like the one at Sutton Hoo’

CHAPTER 10: THE COURT OF HISTORY: THE COINS IN THE PURSE & BURIAL MOUNDS top

The coins in the purse Mr Kent, the coins expert from the British Museum was a very tall, thin, slightly stooping young man with a sharp pointed nose and straight, slicked back black hair. He wore a tiny pair of wire rimmed glasses that Sam thought made him look even more like a heron. 
‘I am the British Museum’s leading expert on coins from the Dark Ages. There were thirty-seven coins in the purse, plus three blank coins and two bars of gold. Kings during the Saxon and Viking period minted their own coins. Studying the names of the kings on the coins means that I am pretty sure that they were minted before 624.’
Jane’s hand shot up,
‘Does this mean that the burial must have happened at some time after 624?’
‘Yes, that is the case. The coins give us a clear idea of when the burial might have taken place. 

The map As there were no questions, Mr Chambers said,
‘Let us look at our second piece of evidence, a map of where the coins and the goods in the burial mound came from.
Mr Chambers passed round copies of the map. Professor Bersu spoke up
‘If we look at the map of where the coins were minted we can see that they all came from the Kingdom of the Merovingians. The Merovingians ruled most of the area of modern France. Does anybody have any ideas about what the coins and gold bar might tell us about the king?’ 
Silence, the archaeologists could not think of anything to say. A smiling Mrs Pretty spoke up, 
‘Do any of the children have any ideas? often their imagination can spot links that grown ups miss.’

David and Clarissa David raised his hand,
‘Of course, the purse’s owner must have been a rich and powerful king. Doesn’t the evidence of the coins suggest that the Merovingian king sent it as a present to the new king, perhaps even for the funeral? There could have even been one coin from each of the king’s tribal chiefs.’
The archaeologists sat stunned, thinking David had come up with a great idea. 
Jane and Clarissa had been chatting, Clarissa went on,
‘And, perhaps the King of France sent the coins as a present to pay for the boat’s forty rowers to row the grave ship into the next world. The bars of gold might have been used to pay the two steersmen; the boat would have had a large steering oar like the one’s Jane has told me were on the great Viking Gokstad and Oseberg boats.’ 
The dowdy lady next to Mrs Pretty nodded in agreement and looked hard at Jane. Jane felt clammy inside, as if she felt the strange woman was reading her mind.

Professor Schmidt’s response Professor Schmidt butted in,
‘Yes, but we must remember that the Viking boats were buried two or three hundred years after the boat in the burial mound. I am sure the Sutton Hoo vessel crossed the sea from the Rhine in Germania. We know that the Saxons used to sail to conquer and settle in Britain from their home land in the heart of modern Germany.’
Mr Chambers now spoke, ‘Thank you, Professor Schmidt, but we should all remember that your’s is a personal view. We know that the Sutton Hoo boat could have come from anywhere around the North Sea, from Norway to northern France. But your comment leads us on to looking at where other burial mounds are in Europe. Professor Bersu knows a great deal about these ’

Professor Bersu was a plump, jolly man who had become a good friend of Jane’s. He spoke quietly and clearly in a German accent – he had been living in England for only four years, a refugee from Nazi Germany.
‘I have been studying burials like those of the Sutton Hoo mound for the past twenty years. If you look at the map you can see that there are a large number of such mounds in modern Norway and Sweden. Alas, Professor Schimdt, there are non inside Germany, although I am sure given time your Nazi government will be able to come up with some. The mounds most like those at Sutton Hoo can be found in the royal graveyard at Vendel and Valsgarde in Sweden. The Swedish mounds lead us to look at our first piece of written evidence.’

Professor Schmidt The pupils of Professor Schmidt’s ice blue eyes narrowed to two black piggy points, his jaw thrust out as he glared at Professor Bersu. He looked just like a Nazi storm trooper whom she had seen on the newsreels in the cinema. Jane thought of the phrase, ‘If looks could kill’ and feared for Professor Bersu’s safety. Mrs Pretty’s lady friend whispered some words to Mrs Pretty, who promptly said,
‘Thank you everyone for what we have already heard and discussed. It has been most interesting. There are lots of things to think about. So let’s have a break for tea. We have plenty of time left to look at the rest of the evidence.’

CHAPTER 11: THE COURT OF HISTORY: THE WUFFINGAS AND BEOWULF top

The family name: Wuffingas After tea Mr Chambers fished out from his battered brown leather bag a dozen photographs of a page from an ancient manuscript which he passed round. 
‘The page is from an Anglo-Saxon manuscript in the British Museum. If you all look at its title you can make out the words East Anglia. Underneath there is a list of names of Saxon kings of East Anglia, the Wuffingas. Here are the names and dates of those who reigned around 624/5 AD.
599 -624/5 Raedwald
624/5 -627/8 Eorpwald
627/8 -636/7 Sigehbert
And, we are pretty sure that the Wuffingas came from Sweden where there are burial mounds like those at Sutton Hoo. The king most likely to be in the mound is Raedwald. At this time he was the greatest of the English kings and a close friend of Edwin, King of Northumbria.’

Beowulf The room was silent as Mr Chambers put down Bede’s History of England and picked up his second book Beowulf. Looking at his audience, he said,
‘The final piece of evidence we have about whether the treasure will belong to Mrs Pretty or the British government is from the famous Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf. It tells us:

They stretched out their beloved lord in his boat,
laid out by the mast amidships, the great gift giver. 
Far fetched treasures were piled upon him, and precious gear,
I never heard before of a ship so well furnished 
with battle tackle, bladed weapons and coats of mail.
It would travel far out onto the ocean’s wave.
They dressed his body no less richly…
and they set a gold standard up high above his head and let him drift to wind and tide.

Clarissa put up her hand, 
‘Please sir, if the boat travelled out to sea, never be seen again, doesn’t this mean that the treasure would be lost for ever?’ 
Everyone nodded, Professor Schmidt smirked with pleasure. He knew that the treasure was on its way to Germany.

Beowulf’s burial mound Professor Bersu now spoke up,
‘Yes, Clarissa, and at the end of the poem the poet tells us that after a dragon had killed Beowulf his people built a burial mound for him just like the one at Sutton Hoo . 

‘On a highland high and imposing
a land mark that sailors could see from afar…
And they buried neck rings in the barrow and jewels a huge treasure like that in the dragon’s lair,
They let the ground keep that royal family treasure
gold under gravel, gone to the earth.’

I think that this proves beyond doubt that the Sutton Hoo treasure was placed there for ever.’
By now Professor Schmidt was almost hugging himself with delight.
The decision Mr Chambers asked each of the archaeologists in turn,
‘Does the treasure belong to the British government or to Mrs Pretty?’
In turn each said that the treasure was Mrs Pretty’s. A broader and broader grin crossed Professor Schmidt’s face as each person voted. When the last vote had been cast, he stood up,
‘Well, Mrs Pretty, I am sure that you will be delighted to accept the German government’s offer to buy your treasure. We will pay anything that you ask. You will be a very rich woman.’

Mrs Pretty’s reply Mrs Pretty had been sitting quietly, listening to the evidence and the views of the archaeologists. There was silence when Professor Schmidt stopped. All eyes were fixed upon her face, everyone was waiting to hear her reply,
‘Professor Schmidt, many thanks for your kind and generous offer. If I felt that the treasure belonged to Germany, I would be happy for it to go to Berlin. Having thought long and hard about the treasure I am convinced that it is the crown jewels of one of the first great English kings. As such, there is only one place where it should rest – in the British Museum. I intend to give the Sutton Hoo treasure to the British people.’

Professor Schmidt’s phone call As Mrs Pretty’s words sank in, a look of hatred flashed across Professor Schmidt’s face. Her words had come as a terrible shock. It was clear that he would have to come up with a new plan. In an icy cold voice he remarked,
‘Mrs Pretty, many thanks for your kind words. Could you please let me use the telephone in the hall. I need to talk to some friends.’
‘Of course’, replied Mrs Pretty. A second later the professor had left the room. Mr Chambers rose to his feet, … ‘Many thanks for your great kindness, generosity and hospitality. The British people will be forever in your debt. Tomorrow we will take the treasure to London for safekeeping. We will all be leaving shortly, the dig has been the most wonderful archaeological adventure ever.’

The telephone message Jane’s magic glasses throbbed, there was a crackling in her ears. She could hear Professor Schmidt’s harsh voice and a translation of his words,
‘Hallo, the eagle has not landed, repeat, not landed. Make sure that you are ready with the car straight after supper. We will then launch operation freedom, code name Valkyrie.’

CHAPTER 12: THE NAZI PLOT top

Sutton Hoo House Mrs Pretty had asked Sam and Jane to stay the night. David and Clarissa were delighted, they would spend the evening playing Monopoly with Mrs Pretty and her friend. After supper they laid out the board, as they were about to start playing Jane’s wizard chip ring began to throb. What could it be? Mrs Pretty’s friend looked up and said,
‘Jane, I feel that you are about to hear something we must all know. I am a medium who can see into the future. I feel that there is an evil danger hovering over us.’
At this moment Jane’s magic glasses began to throb, the danger sign. A message from Cocky was coming through, he was still a bug attached to Professor Schmidt’s shirt collar. It was a telephone message from Professor Schmidt to the German embassy. The magic glasses translated the message into English

Professor Schmidt’s message As Jane heard the message the grandfather clock in the hall struck 7.45. She turned to Mrs Pretty.
‘I have just received a message that Professor Schmidt has telephoned the German embassy. I will repeat it:
This afternoon’s meeting decided that the treasure belongs to Mrs Pretty. She has refused to accept our offer to buy it and given it to the British people. I am taking the embassy car with three men from the Gestapo at once from my hotel. We will raid the house and steal the treasure in fifteen minutes time, we are on our way. Radio the submarine to be waiting at the Woodbridge jetty at 9.00 to take the treasure on board.’
Jane’s face went white with fear, they were all in great danger. 

The plan Jane continued,
‘We must act at once. Our best hope is to stop the thieves at the end of the drive where Mr Brown is staying with Mr Lyons. If can convince the Germans that there are armed guards protecting the treasure they will turn round and leave.’
‘Yes’, said Mrs Pretty’s friend, ‘I will make some phone calls to make sure that help is on its way, and that Mr Brown and Mr Lyons are ready to deal with Professor Schmidt when the Germans arrive.’
At this she strode into the hall. The children and Mrs Pretty could hear that she made three calls, speaking quickly and urgently. When the calls were over she came back to sitting room where the Monopoly game remained unfinished. Five minutes later Mrs Pretty’s car was outside the front door, one of the phone calls had clearly been to Mr Lyons. Mrs Pretty, her friend and the children piled into the car and raced to the gateway at the end of the drive.

The gatehouse As Mr Lyons stopped the car at the gatehouse Sam piped up,
‘We can use the Rolls Royce to block the drive. If we let the tyres down it cannot be driven away. The Germans will not be able to get to the great house. And, if they are armed, we will have to make sure that they do not use their guns to force us to hand over the car keys.’
Within a minute the car’s tyres were flat and everyone was in the house. The car was jammed between the two massive stone gateposts. Jane and Mrs Pretty’s friend had talked about what to do next, Jane spoke up:
‘We have to make sure that the Germans think there are armed men in the gatehouse. With the car blocking the road, this will force them to drive away empty handed. We need to set up Mr Brown’s photographic lights used to photographic archaeological remains and put the metal poles used in the dig in the windows. The Germans will think that they are rifles.’

The thieves Jane’s wizard chip began to throb, she took out her seeing mirror. On a map of the area a signal from Cocky showed a moving point: the German car was approaching. Jane shouted,
‘Get in place, the Nazi car is two minutes away.’
Mrs Pretty was ready. Grim faced, she was wearing a tweed jacket and skirt that reached her ankles and stout brown walking shoes. As she stepped out of the lodge house the German car skidded to a halt, bumper to bumper with the Rolls Royce. As Professor Schmidt stepped out of the car, Cleo’s x-ray vision told Jane that the three Germans in the back of the car were armed with revolvers. 
Mrs Pretty raised her arms as Mr Brown switched on his floodlights. The German car was lit up, Mrs Pretty and Professor Schmidt stood face-to-face.

Mrs Pretty:’ Good evening, Professor, I am pleased to see you, but all is in hand. We have called the Suffolk Police, the Chief Constable is a friend, the police are on their way and should be here in five minutes. We have heard that armed robbers are about to steal the treasure from Sutton Hoo house. As you can see, my Rolls Royce blocks the drive, its tyres are flat, we have taken out part of the motor, the rocker arm. The car cannot be driven away. Mr Lyons, my driver, has taken the car part and car keys back to Sutton Hoo House for safety. There are armed men in the gatehouse, waiting for the thieves. If you have come to pick up something you forgot this afternoon, I am afraid that you will have to come back tomorrow afternoon.’

Professor Schmidt Professor Schmidt could not believe what he was hearing. The gatehouse was a dim, black shape, the floodlights made it hard to see anything. He could see the shapes of gun barrels poking out of the windows. Jane told Cleo what to do and twisted her disappearing ring. Cleo was now invisible. Leader began howling like a wolf, a soul-chilling wail washed over them all. The cat crept past Professor Schmidt, Mrs Pretty turned to look at the Nazi car and exclaimed,
‘Professor Schmidt, you must have just got a puncture. The back tyre of your car has gone flat. You and your men will have to walk back to Woodbridge, there are no taxis and my car is out of use.’

Mrs Pretty departs Professor Schmidt was struck dumb, lost for words. He waved his arms, stamped hard on the ground and began swearing in German. When he calmed down he realised that his plans were in ruins. There would be no meeting with Hitler, no medals, no promotion, no presents. Worse, in the distance he could hear the sound of two police car sirens coming closer. Mrs Pretty remarked,
‘You will have to stay and talk to the police, they might be able to help. There is no room in the gatehouse. Goodnight.’
At that she turned on her heels and disappeared from his view.

The treasure is saved Mrs Pretty stayed in the gatehouse cottage when the two police cars arrived. In one of them was her friend, the Chief Constable. He saw the Germans standing there but went straight to talk to Mrs Pretty. She told him all that she knew. The Chief Constable thought for a second,
‘We need to make sure that we do not have a huge row between the English and German governments over Professor Schmidt’s plot to steal the treasure. We are trying to avoid war breaking out in Europe. I will go an have a quiet, pleasant chat to Professor Schmidt.’
The Chief Constable went outside and talked for a few minutes to Professor Schmidt whose face was beetroot colour with rage. The rest of the Germans got out of their car and, with Professor Schmidt, began the long walk back to Woodbridge. Cocky Pheasant dropped off his shirt at once and was soon back in the cauldron with Cleo and Leader. Mrs Pretty, her friend and the children walked back to Sutton Hoo house, a paraffin lamp lighting their way as soon as the police cars left.

CHAPTER 13: THE ADVENTURE ENDS top

Breakfast After the excitement of the night, everyone was up late. In the dining room was a breakfast feast of cereals, kidneys, kippers, boiled, fried and scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, marmalade tea and coffee. The children chattered happily as they stuffed themselves until they burst. After ten minutes a cheerful Mrs Pretty and her friend appeared,
‘Jane, I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your help last night. Without it the Sutton Hoo treasure might have been lost to Britain and on a submarine on its way to Berlin.’
At that point the doorbell rang. Jane could see that a young man had cycled down the drive. He was wearing a postman’s uniform. In his hand was a letter in a brown envelope. Sam wondered had he made a special journey to bring the letter?

The telegram The postman spoke up,
‘Mrs Pretty, maam? I have brought a telegram for you that has just arrived at Woodbridge Post Office.’ 
Mrs Pretty thanked him for the telegram and went back into the dining room. She tore open the envelope, glanced at the message, and then read it out.

‘Dear Mrs Pretty.
I had hoped to join you for the archaeological dig of the Sutton Hoo burial mound. On the morning that I was due to leave Berlin the police arrested me at my house in Berlin. I have spent the past six weeks in a German jail, unable to talk to anyone. This morning I was told that I was being released without being charged with any crime. I hope that your dig went well, I look forward to hearing about it. 
With best wishes, 
Professor Nathan Schmidt’

Farewell Breakfast was over, Mr Lyons had arrived to take back Sam and Jane to Melton Hall for the last time. At Melton Hall they packed their suitcases, a telephone message had arrived saying it was safe for them to go back to London. It seemed that war might not break out between Britain and Germany. Mr Lyons took Sam and Jane to the station with Mr Brown, both Mr Brown and Mr Lyons hugged the children as they said good-bye.

The railway carriage Once inside the railway carriage Jane and Sam relaxed. Sam was eating a thick strawberry jam sandwich, Jane was reading some amazing adventures of four children and a dog – The Famous Five, just like the ones she experienced. In the cauldron in her pocket sat Cocky, Cleo and Leader, another adventure was over. Time to go home, she could not wait to tell Uncle John of their latest adventure. Nor could she wait to see the look on Miss Woodhead’s face when she told them how they had solved their latest History Mystery. With a twist of her disappearing ring the railway carriage whirred in front of her eyes and disappeared. A second later she and Sam were back at Aelfred Rd. The clock read 8.0’clock, they had been away for ten minutes.

Uncle John & Sam’s Novel Uncle John and Jane’s dad were sitting happily. Since Jane and Sam had slipped into the past they had managed to demolish most of a bottle of wine. Uncle John looked at the children through his owl like glasses,
‘Have fun? Jane, before you and Sam tell us what you have been up to, can Sam let us know what the book he was reading is called. I would like to get hold of it for some children I am teaching next week.’
Sam blinked, and after a second’s thought replied,
‘Yes, Uncle John, here it is.’
He bent down and took the book out of the bag he had left behind when he went on his history mystery trip. The book was called:

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