The Horncastle boar’s head is an early seventh-century Anglo-Saxon ornament depicting a boar that probably was once part of the crest of a helmet. It was discovered in 2002 by a metal detectorist searching in the town of Horncastle, Lincolnshire. The fragment is 40 mm long, and semi-naturalistic in style.
About Horncastle boar’s head in brief
The Horncastle boar’s head is an early seventh-century Anglo-Saxon ornament depicting a boar that probably was once part of the crest of a helmet. It was discovered in 2002 by a metal detectorist searching in the town of Horncastle, Lincolnshire. The fragment is 40 mm long, and semi-naturalistic in style. Its head is hollow; in the space underneath, which was filled with soil and plant matter when found, are three rivets that would have attached it to a larger object. It would probably have formed the crest terminal of one of the “crested helmets” used in Northern Europe during the sixth through eleventh centuries. Boars surmount the Benty Grange and Wollaston helmets, and form the ends of the eyebrows of the Sutton Hoo and perhaps York helmets.
These evidence a thousand-years-long tradition in Germanic mythology associating boars with the deities, and protection. As of 2019 the fragment is on display at The Collection alongside a variety of Anglo- Saxon grave goods, and dates from the first half of the seventh century AD. The acquisition was funded by the Art Fund, the MLAV&A Purchase Grant Fund, Friends of Lincoln Museum & Art Gallery, and the Lincolnshire County Council Heritage Service Purchase Fund. It was reported as found treasure and acquired for £15,000 by the City and County Museum.
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This page is based on the article Horncastle boar’s head published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
