The Sutton Hoo helmet was discovered in an Anglo-Saxon ship burial in 1939. It’s one of only four complete helmets from this time found in England, and may have been worn by a king. The helmet was restored in the 1940s, but it wasn’t until 1968, nearly 30 years after the initial discovery, that research showed the restoration had been inaccurate. The 500 fragments had to be disassembled and put back into their correct positions, like an intricate and very fragile Anglo-Saxon jigsaw puzzle. The w

Curator Sue Brunning gets up close with the iconic Sutton Hoo helmet as it comes out of its case for the first time in a decade 📽 To celebrate the release of #TheDig on Netflix Film, Sue has written a new blog that breaks down eight scenes from the film and compares them with real photos from the 1939 archaeological excavations at Sutton Hoo. Read here: http://ow.ly/xcZd30ruGSQ Excite inquisitive minds with our digital learning resources for ages 7–11 – examine some of the beautiful objects fou

Making Saxon Helmets

Check out this beautiful reconstruction of the Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo helmet (Art by Pedro Mendes). The original Sutton Hoo helmet was found during a 1939 excavation of the Sutton Hoo ship-burial. The burial was the final resting place of someone who had died in the early seventh century, during the Anglo-Saxon period – a time before 'England' existed. People think that an Anglo-Saxon king may have been buried here, and a popular candidate is Raedwald, who ruled the kingdom of East Anglia in the