Sue Brunning Explained

Sue Brunning
Discipline:	Archaeology
Alma Mater:	University College London

Susan Elaine "Sue" Brunning is an archaeologist specialising in Early Medieval material culture, particularly swords, and is the curator of Early Medieval Europe Collections at the British Museum.^[1]

Career

Brunning completed her PhD in 2013 at University College London with a thesis titled 'The 'Living' Sword in Early Medieval Northern Europe: An Interdisciplinary Study'.^[2]

Brunning is the curator of Early Medieval Europe Collections at the British Museum and was involved in the 2014 exhibition of the Sutton Hoo collections.^[3] She advises on the importance and value of archaeological finds recorded via the Portable Antiquities Scheme, such as a silver sword-belt mount found in Culmington, Shropshire, declared as treasure in line with the Treasure Act 1996 in 2019.^[4]

She was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London on 11 November 2018.^[5]

Select publications

• Brunning, S. 2015. "'(Swinger of) the Serpent of Wounds': Swords and Snakes in the Viking Mind", in Michael D.J. Bintley and Thomas J.T. Williams (eds) Representing Beasts in Early Medieval England and Scandinavia. Boydell.
• Brunning, S. 2016. "A 'DIVINATION STAFF' FROM VIKING‐AGE NORWAY: AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM", Acta Archaeologica 87(1), 193–200.
• Brunning, S. 2019. The Sword in Early Medieval Northern Europe; Experience, Identity, Representation. Boydell & Brewer.

External links

• Sue Takes on the Sutton Hoo Helmet I (Curator's Corner Season 6 Episode 5)
• Hands on with the Sutton Hoo sword I (Curator's Corner Season 5 Episode 1) with Sue Brunning
• Sue's favourite Anglo-Saxon sword I (Curator's Corner Season 4 Episode 4)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Britain, Prehistory & Europe: Staff . British Museum . 25 April 2020.
2. The 'Living' Sword in Early Medieval Northern Europe: An Interdisciplinary Study . Susan Elaine Brunning . 2013 . UCL . 25 April 2020.
3. News: British Museum's revamped gallery casts light on Dark Ages . The Guardian . 23 March 2014.
4. News: Shropshire Saxon sword mount declared treasure . BBC News . 16 April 2019.
5. Web site: Dr. Sue Brunning . Society of Antiquaries of London . 25 April 2020.