Editing Sutton Hoo (section)

=== Neolithic and Bronze Age ===

There is evidence that Sutton Hoo was occupied during the [[Neolithic]] period, c. 3000 BC, when woodland in the area was cleared by agriculturalists. They dug small pits that contained [[flint]]-tempered [[earthenware]] pots. Several pits were near to hollows where large trees had been uprooted: the Neolithic farmers may have associated the hollows with the pots.{{sfn|Carver|1998|pp=94–96}}

During the Bronze Age, when agricultural communities living in Britain were adopting the newly introduced technology of metalworking, timber-framed [[Roundhouse (dwelling)|roundhouses]] were built at Sutton Hoo, with [[wattle and daub]] walling and [[Thatching|thatched]] roofs. The best surviving example contained a ring of upright posts, up to {{convert|30|cm|in}} in diameter, with one pair suggesting an entrance to the south-east. In the central [[hearth]], a [[faience]] bead had been dropped.{{sfn|Carver|1998|pp=97–99}}

The farmers who dwelt in this house used decorated [[Beaker culture|Beaker-style]] pottery, cultivated [[barley]], [[oats]], and wheat, and collected [[hazelnut]]s. They dug ditches that marked the surrounding grassland into sections, indicating land ownership. The acidic sandy soil eventually became [[Leaching (agriculture)|leached]] and infertile, and it was likely that for this reason, the settlement was eventually abandoned, to be replaced in the Middle Bronze Age (1500–1000 BC) by sheep or cattle, which were enclosed by wooden stakes.{{sfn|Carver|1998|pp=97–99}}