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Original helmet
Replica: front view
Replica: side view
1968: Excavation of the ship
From Mound 1, Sutton Hoo, Suffolk
Anglo-Saxon
Height: 31.8 cm
Width: 21.5 cm
Gift of Mrs E.M. Pretty
M&ME 1939,10-10,93
Room 2
Sutton Hoo
Helmet
This magnificent helmet, with pictures of men fighting on it, was placed next to the head to show that the owner was a fierce warrior.
When it was dug up it had broken into over 500 pieces. Conservators had to carefully put it back together - like doing a huge 3D jigsaw puzzle. It took them almost a year.
The amazing face-mask even has a moustache and holes under the nose for the wearer to breathe. The helmet also hides some animals - look for boars' heads on the eyebrows, a dragon head above the nose, and a great bird making up the eyebrows and nose.