Question

Difficulty: MediumIdentifying Explicit Details

Read the passage below:

In May 1939, self-taught archaeologist Basil Brown began excavating a large earthen mound, known as Mound 1, on the private estate of Edith Pretty in Sutton Hoo, Suffolk. Pretty had commissioned the dig after observing mysterious ridges across her property. Working under the auspices of the Ipswich Museum, Brown initially uncovered iron rivets spaced symmetrically along the soil, leading him to conclude that a wooden vessel had been buried there centuries earlier. By July, as the full outline of a ninety-foot Anglo-Saxon ship emerged from the sand, professional archaeologists from the Ministry of Works, led by Charles Phillips, assumed direction of the site due to the national significance of the find. Inside what had been the central burial chamber, excavators discovered an extraordinary array of gold ornaments, silver feasting vessels, and a famed ceremonial iron helmet. Crucially, the absence of human skeletal remains prompted intense scholarly debate. Soil testing later revealed that the highly acidic soil of East Anglia had completely dissolved the organic matter of the deceased king, likely Raedwald of East Anglia, who died around 624 CE. To preserve the delicate impression of the ship's timbers, which had turned into dark staining in the sandy soil, Brown used soft plaster casts and photographed every layer prior to removal. The artifacts were donated to the British Museum by Edith Pretty in August 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, ensuring their safety in underground railway vaults throughout the conflict.

According to the passage, what was the reason no human skeletal remains were found in the burial chamber of Mound 1?

  1. The acidic composition of the East Anglian soil had completely dissolved the organic material of the buried individual.Answer
  2. B
    The Anglo-Saxon ship was created as a symbolic memorial that never contained a physical corpse.
  3. C
    The tomb had been raided by grave robbers who carried away the body along with precious artifacts.
  4. D
    The early excavators accidentally destroyed the fragile skeletal fragments during the plaster casting process.

Answer

The absence of skeletal remains occurred because the acidic composition of the East Anglian soil completely dissolved the organic material over time.
The correct answer accurately reflects the explicit detail in the text stating that soil testing revealed the highly acidic soil of East Anglia had completely dissolved the organic matter of the buried king.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Locate the key subject in the passage
Found the mention of the absence of human skeletal remains in the middle of the paragraph.
The question asks for the specific reason why no skeletal remains were discovered in Mound 1.
2
Read the directly succeeding sentence for the explicit explanation
Identified the statement: 'Soil testing later revealed that the highly acidic soil of East Anglia had completely dissolved the organic matter of the deceased king.'
Literal comprehension questions on the ACT rely strictly on directly stated facts within the passage.
3
Match the explicit fact to the option that paraphrases it accurately
Selected the choice stating that the acidic soil dissolved the organic material.
This option retains the exact meaning of the passage without introducing unsupported assumptions.

Key Concept

Identifying Explicit Details
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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