Rare pre-Viking helmet pieces — fit for a king — discovered in Denmark. Take a look
Just before the age of the Vikings, a town on an eastern island of present-day Denmark was a regional center of trade.
The town of Lejre is centrally located between England and Sweden, each with their own strong, ancient cultures, but it was not a place of conflict. Instead, the political and religious elite met there to trade goods, network and worship the gods.
Remnants of this cultural exchange remain outside the city, and in the spring of 2024, two metal detectorists from Jutland and Sweden stumbled upon pieces of the past, the ROMU museum organization announced Jan. 16 in a news release.
The metal detectorists donated two pieces of Danefæ, translating literally to “Great Dane,” but meaning any objects from the past that have cultural and historical value but no clear owner.
Historians with the National Museum of Denmark looked at the pieces, and they quickly realized what they were seeing.
The two pieces fit together like a puzzle, ROMU said, and together they made the brow ridge of a pre-Viking era helmet.
The helmet was made of bronze and then gilded in gold and adorned with dark red gemstones called garnets, ROMU said. The decorations are elaborate and detailed, and would not have just belonged to anyone.
Julie Nielsen, ROMU’s archaeological director, said finding any helmet parts are relatively rare in Denmark, but finding one as ornamented as this is even more unique, making it one of the most magnificent helmet discoveries in the country.
The style of ornamentation, depicting an animal with teeth and large eyes, was typical of the late Germanic Iron Age, the period directly before the rise of the Vikings, around 650 to 750 A.D., Nielsen said.
The grandiose style also suggests the helmet was not meant for battle, but was instead dedicated to a king or someone who would have been the highest-ranking person in what Nielsen described as a divided hierarchy in the region.
Garnets, particularly those that are deep red in color, are associated with strength, Nielsen said, and again show the person who wore the helmet was in a position of great power.
The helmet has similarities to helmets found in neighboring England, but it also has unique features, ROMU said.
The helmet’s eyebrow arch is in a single piece, while other similar finds use three separate brackets to put the arch together, according to ROMU.
Museum officials say a photo of the helmet was used on the cover of a research project report on Jan. 21, and history buffs and locals alike started a discussion about where it could have been found before the artifact’s discovery was released. Now, the piece is available for viewing in the very city where it was found at the Lejre Museum.
Lejre is on an island in eastern Denmark, about a 30-mile drive west from Copenhagen.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from ROMU.
