Shorwell Helmet

The Shorwell Helmet is an Anglo-Saxon Spangenhelm type helmet found near Shorwell on the Isle of Wight in 2006.

Discovery
The helmet was discovered in 2006 at Shorwell, Isle of Wight. Originally, it, together with the Burgh helm, was mistaken as a cooking pot. In 2012, however, metallurgical analysis revealed that the object was in fact a helmet, constructed in the Spangenhelm style of the Late Roman/Early Medieval period. The helmet, like the one found at Sutton Hoo, was in many fragments, and was heavily corroded. It is currently under conservation in the British Museum.

Description
The helmet is a typical Spangenhelm, in the Frankish style. It is constructed of four metal plates, bound together with an iron band around the rim, two on each side of the helmet dome, and a single band reaching over the top from front to back. It has no cheekpieces or nasal bar, and has no decoration, perhaps indicating it was worn by a less wealthy warrior than the wearers of the Coppergate or Sutton Hoo helmets. The helmet was found with a sword and a spear, and also a shield and several arm rings, belt buckes and hand rings. The quality of the equipment suggests that this man was a minor noble, a Thegn, who would have been the local landowner or chief.