Copyright Sheffield Galleries & Museums Trust
Close up of boar on helmet from Benty Grange
Copyright Sheffield Galleries & Museums Trust
Close up of boar on helmet from Benty Grange
Dimensions : Length of boar 9.5cm.
Site name : Benty Grange
Site type : Burial site
Time period : Anglo-Saxon
Material : Gemstone; Bronze; Gold; Metal
Object type : Grave goods; Personal item
Museum number : J93.1189
The Benty Grange helmet is the only surviving example of a boar crested helmet in Europe. The boar was an important symbol to the Anglo-Saxons. It represented strength and endurance, the characteristics of the wild boar. This is very appropriate for use on a helmet.
The use of the boar as a symbol has a long history in Europe. It was certainly used as far back as the Iron Age. It also has strong links to the mythologies of the pre-Christian communities of Europe. Many of these used animals to symbolise human qualities.
Bibliography :
Bruce-Mitford, R. and Luscombe, M. R. , 1974
Glossary:
Anglo-Saxon
Iron Age
Related objects
The boar on the replica Benty Grange helmet
Helmet from Benty Grange
Pieces of the boar from the replica Benty Grange helmet
Two boar tusks and two pieces of haematite from Liffs Low
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