tour 7 of 20
Buried Treasures Unearthed
Chertsey Shield
This bronze shield was found in 1985 by the
driver of a mechanical digger excavating gravel from a channel of
the River Thames. The shield had been bent and crumpled by the
digger.
It would have taken
skilled craftspeople a long time to make this shield and it was
probably not made to be used in battle; the thin bronze would have
been smashed by swords and penetrated by spears with ease. The
shield was probably made for display. Like the Battersea, Witham
and Thames shields, the Chertsey shield was deliberately placed in
the River Thames, probably as an offering or sacrifice to gods,
spirits or ancestors.