Long afterwards, the chamber roof collapsed violently under the weight of the mound, compressing the ship's contents into a seam of earth. An oval mound was constructed around the ship. Inside this, the helmet was wrapped in cloths and placed to the left of the head of the body. The ship had been hauled from the nearby river up the hill and lowered into a prepared trench. The helmet was buried among other regalia and instruments of power as part of a furnished ship-burial, probably dating from the early seventh century. The ship impression during the 1939 excavation Basil Brown is in the foreground, and Lieutenant Commander John Kenneth Douglas Hutchison in the background. 7.2 Re-excavations at Sutton Hoo, 1965вЂ“70.3.5 Design 3: Unidentified figural scene.She donated them to the British Museum, where the helmet is on permanent display in Room 41. The helmet and the other artefacts from the site were determined to be the property of Edith Pretty, owner of the land on which they were found. It was excavated as hundreds of rusted fragments, and was first displayed following an initial reconstruction in 1945вЂ“46, and then in its present form after a second reconstruction in 1970вЂ“71. It has become a symbol of the Early Middle Ages and 'of Archaeology in general'. The visage contains eyebrows, a nose, and moustache, creating the image of a man joined by a dragon's head to become a soaring dragon with outstretched wings. It is described as 'the most iconic object' from 'one of the most spectacular archaeological discoveries ever made', and perhaps the most important known Anglo-Saxon artefact. The helmet was both a functional piece of armour that would have offered considerable protection if ever used in warfare, and a decorative, prestigious piece of extravagant metalwork. It was buried around 625 and is widely associated with King RГ¦dwald of East Anglia its elaborate decoration may have given it a secondary function akin to a crown. The Sutton Hoo helmet is an ornately decorated Anglo-Saxon helmet found during a 1939 excavation of the Sutton Hoo ship-burial. Regarding the new version I mentioned - it would have nothing to do with the original limited version.'Thanks for the info. Regarding the new version I mentioned - it would have nothing to do with the original limited version.'Interesting! All in for the new version and to compare it to my original helm ! Imagine if it would be metal!!!! Both WK helms I have were probably from well worn molds, as both are slightly shorter and fatter than the master. Rubber molds shrink and deform slightly each time they are used so they can only be used for a few hundred castings before new molds need to be made. It would not just be a second generation as far as casting detail, but the thickness of the paint and any mold distortions from the rubber molds would be in the new recast master, making casting from that even more different from the originals. is possible, and we discussed it, but there are issues with doing that beyond the fact that the detailing would be inferior to the others from the same edition. 'If an unpainted master turns up, they could continue it, but that's not likely.

Gwindor, here are the responses to our questions:

Helm of raedwald forums