Anglo-Saxon Helmets: The Benty Grange Helmet
You may find it hard to believe that there have only been 6 Anglo-Saxon helmets discovered in the UK, and 5 of those were in England. The most famous of these is undoubtedly the Sutton Hoo Helmet, which is currently housed in the British Museum. It's easy to see why it is the most famous; it's very imposing and incredibly detailed, but I'd like to introduce you to one of its contemporaries, which is often overlooked. The Coppergate helmet may be the best-preserved, and the Sutton Hoo helmet may be the most detailed, but what about the Benty Grange Helmet?
Excavated in 1848 by Thomas Bateman in Derbyshire, the Benty Grange Helmet was the first Anglo-Saxon helmet found in the UK. It is now housed in Weston Park Museum in Sheffield. The helmet is made of 16 pieces, which form the iron frame and the Boar crest.
Let's start from the top, and the most well-known feature of this helmet is the boar crest. Boar-crested helmets are mentioned in Anglo-Saxon literature, but at the time of writing, the Benty Grange helmet is the only one to have been found with its boar. The boar features tiny garnets for eyes, while the eye sockets themselves were lined with gold. It would have been an amazing sight when in direct sunlight.. We don't know what material would have been used to make the spine of the boar, but the reconstruction made in the 1980s (see below) used hair. The boar itself is made from iron, with gilded silver details. This silver was recycled Roman silver. How do we know that? x-rays! When the helmet was X-rayed, Roman designs were found on the reverse of the silver. The boar also features silver studs which were filed down and gilded to simulate bristles.
It is widely agreed that between the bands which made the iron frame were sheets of animal horn, most probably cattle horn. None of the horn survives today, but grain imprints on parts of the iron suggest that horn was used. The nasal guard features a cruciform made from silver, which was originally a plus sign and was later extended, and it is surrounded by silver studs. My favourite detail though? The rivets holding the horn to the iron frame are shaped like tiny little axe heads.
Signa's Thoughts
I may be biased, but I think the Benty Grange Helmet deserves to be as famous as the Sutton Hoo helmet. The craftsmanship that went into creating those horn plates, and the details on the boar? Amazing. Yes, yes, the Sutton Hoo helmet is more detailed, but it's also stamped. Those scenes weren't carved into the metal; they were stamped. Now, don't get me wrong, it is still an amazing object, but the Benty Grange helmet is just much more charismatic in my opinion.
Sources:
I learnt a lot of this information while working at Weston Park Museum. How could I not when I spent most of my weekends standing next to it?
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