Shield from the ship-burial at Sutton Hoo (part-reconstruction)

A shield was a vital piece of kit for every early Anglo-Saxon warrior, but this one is by far the most lavish ever found. The round wooden board had decayed in the ground, but the metal fittings that were attached to it survived. Here the form of the original shield has been reconstructed, with oak-bark tanned cow-hide over lime wood boards.

The front of the shield was decorated with gilded emblems, including a bird-of-prey with a cruel beak and talons, and a six-winged dragon with snapping jaws. They evoke qualities like strength and courage which were appropriate to the shield’s bearer, and may also have been seen as protective. At the centre is a heavy iron boss, decorated with pairs of intertwined horses. Around the rim are gold foil panels covered with interlacing decoration and animal heads with beady garnet eyes. The shield was held by an iron grip behind the boss, which is embellished with bird and dragon-like heads.

The Sutton Hoo shield resembles examples known from the contemporary high status cemeteries in eastern Sweden. Together with the helmet, it suggests that East Anglia shared cultural links with this part of Scandinavia in the early Anglo-Saxon period.