 On 11 May, the remainder of an iron ship rivet was found, and seven days later Guy Maynard, the then curator of Ipswich Museum, was informed of the "indications of a large vessel" remaining in the soil.Phillips, then a fellow at Selwyn College and working on excavations at Little Woodbury, was alerted to the discovery by Maynard; visiting the site on 6 June, Phillips said "it could be the ship of a King".Due to his experience with excavations the Sutton Hoo ship-burial was put under his command.