Woodbridge, England — In a far-flung corner of southeast England, in a boatshed on the River Debden, a former U.S. Navy submariner whose career saw him serve on some of the most advanced nuclear-powered vessels of the 20th century has embarked on a mission into the past. David "Mac" MacDonald is one of 180 volunteers building a precise replica of a ship that set sail under the command of a king almost one-and-a-half millennia ago.

They're working with The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company in the small town of Woodbridge, and their mission is to build a historically accurate reproduction of the wooden longship famously discovered on the site, which is believed to have been the final resting place of a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon king.

People watch the excavations at the site of an Anglo-Saxon ship

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