Martin Carver has used the evidence of what he identifies as iconic pagan practices at Sutton Hoo to theorise that the ship burial represents one example of pagan defiance "provoked by the perceived menace of a predatory Christian mission".
Martin Carver utilizou a evidencia do que el considera como prácticas pagás en Sutton Hoo para teorizar que o barco funerario representa un desafío pagán "provocado pola ameaza percibida dunha misión cristiá depredadora".