tour 2 of 13
Anglo-Saxon England
Sutton Hoo helmet
The most famous Anglo-Saxon treasures in the Museum come from
the Sutton Hoo burial site in Suffolk. Here mysterious grassy
mounds covered a number of ancient graves. In one particular grave,
belonging to an important Anglo-Saxon warrior, some
astonishing objects were buried.
Archaeologists discovered this helmet lying in the tomb. It
was an amazing, rare find. It was also very unusual
because it had a face-mask. Look at the nose, eyebrows and
holes for the warrior's eyes. What sort of impression would the
person who wore it have made? Can you see a dragon with
outstretched wings, made up by the two bushy eyebrows, nose
and moustache?
When this helmet was found it had broken into more than 500
pieces. Conservators carefully put it back together, rather like
doing a huge 3-D jigsaw.
Resources for Teachers
An enquiry based around the Sutton Hoo helmet.
Download teachers' notes (27 Kb)
Download student activity sheet (40
Kb)