Coins found in the burial have been dated to the approximate date of Rædwald's death. Bruce-Mitford has suggested that the inclusion of bowls and spoons amongst the treasures fits with Bede's account of Raedwald's conversion: the spoons may have been a present for a convert from paganism and the bowls had Christian significance. Yorke suggests that the treasures buried with the ship reflect the size of the tribute paid to Rædwald by subject kings during his period as bretwalda. The magnificence of the objects, both the personal possessions and those items designed to denote the authority of the dead individual, point to the burial of a person connected with the royal court, according to Rupert Bruce-Mitford, who regards the burial was "very likely the monument of the High King or bretwalda Raedwald". The Mediterranean silverware in the grave is a unique assemblage for its period in Europe. The gold and garnet body-equipment found with the other goods was produced for a patron who employed a goldsmith the equal or better than any in Europe and was designed to project an image of imperial power. One unusual item was a large 'sceptre' in the form of a whetstone, that showed no sign of previous use as a tool: it has been suggested that this was a symbol of the office of bretwalda. In the centre of the ship was a chamber which contained a remarkable assemblage of jewellery and other rich grave goods, including silver bowls, drinking vessels, clothing and weaponry. The mound enclosed a ship, 27 metres (89 ft) long, which had seen use on the seas and had been repaired.
In 1939, a mound at Sutton Hoo, now known as Mound 1, was discovered to contain an Anglo-Saxon burial of unparalleled richness. There, large mounds-which were originally much higher and more visible-can still be seen, overlooking the upper estuary of the River Deben.
Rædwald lived at a time when eminent individuals were buried in barrows at the cemetery at Sutton Hoo, near Woodbridge, Suffolk.
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