Hallaton Helmet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hallaton Helmet |
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The Hallaton Helmet
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| Material | Iron |
| Size | 407 millimetres (16.0 in) high |
| Created | Roman, 1st century AD |
| Discovered | By amateur archaeologists in 2000 |
| Place | Hallaton, Leicestershire |
| Present location | Harborough Museum |
The Hallaton Helmet is a decorated iron Roman cavalry parade helmet originally covered in a sheet of silver and decorated in places with gold leaf. It was discovered in 2000 near Hallaton, Leicestershire after Ken Wallace, a member of the Hallaton Fieldwork Group, found coins in the area. Further investigation by professional archaeologists from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services discovered that the site appeared to have been used as a large-scale Iron Age shrine. Nine years of conservation and restoration have been undertaken by experts from the British Museum, supported by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £650,000. The helmet is now on permanent display at the Harborough Museum in Market Harborough alongside other artefacts from the Hallaton Treasure hoard.
Although it was found shattered into thousands of pieces and is now heavily corroded, the helmet still bears evidence of its original finely decorated design. It was plated with silver-gilt and decorated with images of goddesses and equestrian scenes. It would have been used by a Roman auxiliary cavalryman for displays and possibly in battle. The identity of the owner is not known but the helmet was discovered on a native British ceremonial site, buried alongside thousands of Iron Age British and Roman coins. It is possible that the helmet was owned by a Briton who fought alongside the Romans during the Roman conquest of Britain.
Discovery and restoration
The helmet was discovered by 71-year-old Ken Wallace, a retired teacher and amateur archaeologist. He and other members of the Hallaton Fieldwork Group had found fragments of Roman pottery on a hill near Hallaton in 2000. He visited the site with a second-hand metal detector late one afternoon and found about 200 coins, which had been buried in a series of small pits dug into the clay. He also found another artifact, which he left in the ground overnight. The following day he returned to examine his discovery and found it that it was a silver ear. He reported the find to Leicestershire's county archaeologist, who called in the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) to excavate the site. The dig took place in the spring of 2003.
The helmet was too fragile to be excavated in situ so it was removed within a block of earth held together with plaster of Paris. It was taken to the British Museum in London for conservation, which took nine years of work by conservator Marilyn Hockey and her colleagues Fleur Shearman and Duygu Çamurcuoğlu. Corrosion and the effects of time had shattered the helmet into thousands of pieces, most of which were smaller than the nail on a person's little finger. The reconstructed and conserved helmet was unveiled in January 2012.
Leicester County Council was able to raise £1 million to buy the entire hoard and pay for the conservation of the helmet, with the assistance of donations from the Heritage Lottery Fund (which gave a £650,000 grant), the Art Fund and other trusts and charities. The helmet was valued at £300,000; under the terms of the Treasure Act, Ken Wallace and the landowner were each awarded £150,000.
The helmet was put on permanent public display at the end of January 2012 at the Harborough Museum in Market Harborough, nine miles from the site where the hoard was found, alongside other objects found at Hallaton.
