The archaeologists in charge of the famous discovery of Staffordshire Hoard have reconstructed small pieces of a unique helmet, along with an ancient handle of a sword. It is thought to be the biggest series of Anglo-Saxon artifacts in history.
The hoard is thought to have belonged to a king or a royal family giving insight into the world of the Anglo-Saxon culture.
It is speculated that the two pieces of military gear were probably crafted for the earliest kings in England’s long and proud history. Even though the armored headgear isn’t completely reconstructed yet, it is known to include ear protectors, along with most of the cap and the crown. The band from the helmet shows sketches of powerful animals and mighty Saxon fighters. Other pictures on the band depict handlebar mustached warriors and political figures. Meticulously reconstructing these artifacts is what archaeologists around the world spend their whole career trying to do. Pieces less than 1cm wide made up a third of the portion of the Hoard.
Even though England has been keen in unearthing its long and extravagant history, it is a well-known fact that Anglo-Saxon artifacts are few and far between. This is only the 5th documented helmet ever found. After its discovery, it took about three long days for the team to put back together the 1,500 pieces of metal to discover more about the artifact.
The rare helmet was just one of the extravagant artifacts that was found in the hoard. There have been five and a half dozen handles discovered, but one of the pommels stands out above the rest and has been declared as exceptionally crafted. The two dozen fragmented pommels were styled by the Anglo-Saxons but had roots in English or Irish culture. The main gem and decorated glass saucer created a beautiful cross thought to have been from the Christian background but also designed the three serpents which signified a dual background of religious influence. The weirdest part is that the pommel’s circular shoulder was first discovered to have contained two instead of the traditional one, sparking debate between political importance or a man of truly high stature. This was without a doubt a luxurious item during the time showing signs of power and significance.
There are more than four thousand artifacts that have been found after hundreds of objects were found in the surrounding fields. The collection has been carefully crafted back together to give historians a broader knowledge of the youngest part of the beautifully crafted country of England.
The discovery shows the true aspirations of England as a young nation. The materials amassed inside the hoard suggest that the country expected nothing but the best for both its royalty and citizens across the country.
The hoard also provided insight on the crafts that combined alloys with wood, and even the remains of animal game glued together by using resins of both plant and animal extracts. There was even Roman glass inside the hoard. There was a sword handle developed from intentionally darkened silver and gold elegantly combined with stone and perfectly crafted glass with copper.
This looks to be the era that Ireland and Britain united to create the everlasting bonds that remain throughout Brexit from the European Union.
Historians speculate that the hoard was a symbol of the bond between the two kingdoms as they fought together to create a union that would last millenniums.
Archaeologists celebrated the find as an important cornerstone of the development for the era due to the significance of the attention to both detail and the luxury invested.
The hoard was originally found by a rogue treasure hunter nine years after the turn of the millennium. The find was valued at over 3 million pounds and included over 500 parts of gold and jewels from an unemployed Englishman in July! As the elderly gentlemen picked up his two and a half pound metal detector that summer day, he couldn’t begin to imagine what he had in store for him. The man stated that the spirits of the past led him to this discovery by saying ‘I don’t know why I said it that day, but I think somebody was listening and directed me to it. Maybe it was meant to be; maybe the gold had my name on it all along. I was going to bed and in my sleep I was seeing gold items.’
The cache contains over eleven pounds of gold, over three pounds of silver and thousands of gems.