explore Images The Sutton Hoo helmet

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The Sutton Hoo helmet

The Sutton Hoo helmet has become an icon of the early Medieval period. This helmet was found at a burial site in Suffolk along with many other valuable objects. The burial provides insights into the life of the Anglo-Saxon elite and into connections between Britain and other parts of the world. The finds at Sutton Hoo changed historians’ views about the AngloSaxon period, which had been regarded as a Dark Age following the end of Roman Britain.

The helmet was discovered in 1939 at Sutton Hoo, in Suffolk, where archaeologists unearthed the remains of an Anglo-Saxon ship, possibly the tomb of a 7th-century nobleman. Inside the ship, among the gold, silver and iron, was a sword, a shield and this warrior’s helmet, which has become an icon of the AngloSaxon period. Though the helmet was badly damaged, it was possible to restore it. It comprised an iron cap, neck guard, cheek pieces and a face mask. The surface was covered with copper panels that gave it a bright, silvery appearance. Many of these panels were decorated with animal ornaments and heroic scenes of warriors, very popular in the Germanic world of the period. The Sutton Hoo helmet is one of the most important Anglo Saxon finds of all time. It was buried in the grave of a warrior chieftain together with a vast array of weapons and a 27-metre-long ship. Although it is proved that the helmet belonged to a powerful war-leader, we cannot be certain who he was. When it was found, it conjured up images of the warrior culture depicted in Beowulf, the great Anglo-Saxon epic poem written in a similar period.

CHECK IN

1. Look at the reconstructed helmet and complete the description with the words from the box.

nose • eyebrows • face • mask • human

Hanging from the helmet is a (1)

to protect the (2) and flaps to protect the jaw and the ears. The mask is the helmet’s most remarkable feature. It has a (3) face, comprising eye-sockets1, eyebrows, moustache, mouth and a (4) with two small holes so that the warrior could breathe. The copper

(5)

3

garnets . are inlaid2 with silver wire and tiny

1. eye-sockets_ orbite oculari 2. inlaid_intarsiate 3. garnets_pietre preziose rosso granata

2. Discuss Do you think there could be any relationship between the Sutton Hoo helmet and Beowulf?