The Anglian Helmet from 16-22 Coppergate

In 1976 the York Archaeological Trust initiated a large scale excavation at 16–22 Coppergate, in the heart of the walled city (Fig.359), directed by R. A. Hall. The primary aim of this excavation was to elucidate the scale and nature of Anglo-Scandinavian occupation in the area, but it was also hoped to locate stratified archaeological levels of the Anglian period which had up to then proved so elusive. The excavation which lasted until 1981 was an outstanding success in illuminating the problems of Anglo-Scandinavian York, but produced only a scatter of late Anglian pottery and objects, mostly of the 9th century, and very little in the way of Anglian stratification. The Coppergate helmet was discovered in April 1982 during construction work in the area of the long-running excavations at 16-22 Coppergate, York. It was struck by a mechanical excavator which caused extensive damage to one side of the object. The helmet lay face down in the corner of the bottom of a wood-lined pit, the upper part of which had been removed by building works in the 19th century. The pit also contained a sword-beater, a chum dasher, a crucible fragment, an antler beam, a rubbing stone, and fragments of fuel ash slag and glass. Radiocarbon dates suggest that the pit was of mid to late Anglian date, and there is a dendrochronological date of after 586 for the felling of one of the timbers of the lining. Environmental analysis of the fill, however, has produced insect assemblages and dye plant fragments more characteristic of the Anglo-Scandinavian period. It is suggested that the pit was a shallow well which was backfilled in a single operation in the Anglo-Scandinavian period. This would also explain the heterogeneous nature of the objects in the pit.