The village of Exning in the most westerly part of Suffolk is a small settlement appended to the north-west of the larger town of Newmarket. Despite its modern inferiority to Newmarket, it is understood to have been an important location in the Anglo-Saxon period. Statements in the Liber Eliensis or ‘Book of Ely’ suggest that St Æthelthryth, or Etheldreda, the daughter of King Anna of East Anglia, who would become Abbess of Ely, was born here. This volume describes the archaeological excavation of the site and the 7th century Anglo-Saxon cemetery that was recorded here. Grave goods present with several of the burials in the cemetery were indicative of high status. Of further note is the similarity of the richest grave at this site with a grave recorded at a cemetery on the Isle of Ely which is considered to have had links with the religious community there.

AUTHOR
Andrew A. S. Newton studied archaeology at the University of Bradford , carrying out an MPhil on the relationship between politics and archaeology at the same institution. He has worked for Archaeological Solutions since 2005, contributing to numerous post-excavation projects in East Anglia and the south-east of England.

List of contributors: Steve Allen, Sue Anderson, J. Beaumont, Nicholas J. Cooper, Julia E. M. Cussans, Margrethe Felter, Kathren Henry, Catherine Hills, Sam Lucy, Andrew Peachey, Ian Riddler, Peter Thompson, John Summers, Penelope Walton Rogers.

REVIEWS
‘This is a good example of a report well done, packed full of useful information, discussion and the data underpinning it. The quality of the illustrations is excellent and there is an unusually high number of colour photographs throughout, including some high magnification images of the organic remains.’ Matt Bunker, Wulfheodenas, August 2020

‘The evidence presented in this book is new and of great value to early medieval scholars, burial archaeologists, and those working at the intersection of early medieval history and archaeology. It makes a substantial contribution to our knowledge of burial practices in this period and in this area of England.’ Dr Ruth Nugent, University of Liverpool