The Meyrick Helmet is an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

bronze peaked helmet, with La Tène style decoration, that is held at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

in London. It is one of only four Iron Age helmets to have been discovered in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, the other three being the more famous Waterloo Helmet, the Canterbury Helmet and the North Bersted Warrior helmet. Unlike the Waterloo Helmet, which bears two cone-shaped horns, the Meyrick Helmet is hornless and appears to be based on a Roman model. Vincent Megaw, emeritus professor of archaeology at the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

, has conjectured that the helmet may have belonged to a British

auxiliary Auxiliary may refer to: In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of some kind to a military se ...

fighting in the Roman army during the campaigns against the

Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geog ...

in AD 71–74.

Discovery

The provenance of the helmet is unknown, but on stylistic grounds it is thought likely that it comes from the north of England, in the area of Britain controlled by the

tribe. The helmet is first recorded as part of the collection of arms and armour accumulated by Sir

Samuel Rush Meyrick Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick, Royal Guelphic Order, KH (16 August 1783 – 2 April 1848) was an English collector and scholar of arms and armour. He lived at Goodrich Court, Goodrich, Herefordshire, and introduced systematic principles to the stud ...

(1783–1848), and so must have been discovered some time before 1848. It is possible that the helmet came from the Stanwick Hoard of about 140 bronze objects that was found some time between 1843 and 1845 near Stanwick Camp in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, which may have been the ''

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

'' of the

. After Meyrick's death the helmet and other items of Iron Age armour, such as the

Witham Shield The Witham Shield is an Iron Age decorative bronze shield facing of La Tène style, dating from about the 4th century BC. The shield was discovered in the River Witham in the vicinity of Washingborough and Fiskerton, Lincolnshire, Fiskerton in Linc ...

, were left to his cousin, Lt. Colonel Augustus Meyrick, who disposed of them between 1869 and 1872. The helmet was purchased by Augustus Franks, an independently wealthy antiquarian who worked for the British Museum. Franks donated the helmet to the British Museum in 1872.

Description

The helmet is considered to be a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

version of a Roman

helmet, combining a Roman shape with La Tène style decoration. It is in the shape of a conical cap with a peaked neck guard. It is made from a single sheet of bronze, possibly spun finished, and has repoussé decoration in the La Tène style, similar to that found on the Waterloo Helmet, on the neck guard and on the fragmentary side pieces. On the neck guard are two flat domed bosses with criss-cross grooves which would originally have held red glass enamel studs. There are holes on either side for attachment to a chin-strap or cheekpiece, and a hole at the top of the helmet for the attachment of a plumed top-knot. On the outer margin of the helmet are incised two strokes which could represent the Roman number "II".

References

External links

British Museum record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyrick Helmet 1st-century artifacts 1840s archaeological discoveries Archaeological discoveries in the United Kingdom Ancient helmets Ancient Celtic metalwork Iron Age Britain Prehistoric objects in the British Museum Romano-British objects in the British Museum Individual helmets

Discovery

Description

See also

References

Further reading

External links