The Canterbury Helmet is an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

helmet found in a field near

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, in December 2012. Made of bronze, it is one of only a few helmets dating from the

to ever have been found in Britain. The helmet currently resides in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, and is undergoing conservation work. It was found by Mr Trevor Rodgers, who found it together with an iron brooch and a pin, and it is thought to have contained a bag with cremated human remains.

Construction

The helmet was made of sheet bronze, and was of the Coolus style, a type used by both Gallic Warriors and

Roman Legionaries The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of t ...

, with a bowl shape and a flared beck to protect the back of the head and neck. This type of helmet was common on the continent, but is not commonly seen in Britain, though this may simply be due to the lack of finds from this era.

Context

It is unclear where exactly the helmet is from. It is thought by some historians that it may be the burial of a Roman soldier from Caesar's Invasions of Britain, or that it may be the helmet of a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

mercenary who had served against the Romans in Gaul, and had adopted a Continental helmet style. Other historians and archaeologists believe it is simply a helmet inspired by Gallic designs. As the helmet was found in 2012, debate still rages about its nature and origin.

References

;Notes ;Sources * * * * * * {{helmets 1st-century BC works 2012 archaeological discoveries Iron Age Britain Ancient helmets Archaeological artifacts Individual helmets Ancient Roman helmets

Construction

Context

See also

References