The Waterloo Helmet
- Gallery: Room 50
- Culture: Iron Age
- Date: 150 BC - 50 BC (circa)
- Object type: helmet
- Materials: copper alloy; glass; bronze
- Museum number: 1988,1004.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is "The Waterloo Helmet", a rare and striking artifact from the Iron Age. This copper alloy helmet features two prominent horns and a beautifully crafted, repoussé-decorated surface. You’ll notice the cap is made from two pieces joined by rivets, with an additional crescent-shaped section below the front.
Each horn is formed from a copper alloy sheet and capped with a knob. One horn has been broken and replaced – a detail that highlights the careful restoration of this one-of-a-kind piece. Running along the sides are decorative strips adorned with rows of rivets. These extend around the base of the horns and across the top of the helmet.
Originally, the helmet was polished bronze, adorned with bright red glass enamel studs. The repoussé patterns, similar to those on the Snettisham Great Torc, cover both the front and back. Though found in battle may seem likely, this helmet was more likely a ceremonial object – a powerful symbol of status and identity in its time.
See it in person
The Waterloo Helmet is on display in Room 50 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
New, in beta. British Museum support has just launched and is still improving: over 1,000 objects so far, with more added all the time.
