Sutton Hoo Helmet

An Anglo-Saxon warrior king's iron and bronze face guard/Archaeology & Antiquities

The Sutton Hoo helmet is one of the most iconic artifacts from early medieval England, discovered in 1939 during the excavation of a 27-meter-long ship burial mound in Suffolk. Dating to the early 7th century AD, the helmet belonged to a high-status Anglo-Saxon warrior, likely King Raedwald of East Anglia. Made of iron plates with tinned bronze decorative panels depicting heroic scenes, the helmet features a full face mask with eyebrows inlaid with silver wire and garnets, a nose-and-mouth guard shaped like a dragon or bird, and cheek flaps. It was found in fragments and painstakingly reconstructed by the British Museum, where it now resides as a centerpiece of the early medieval collection.