A closer look
The Celts were so fiercely devoted to their river gods that they would forge absolute masterpieces of metallurgy just to chuck them into the mud. The Battersea Shield is a stunningly intricate piece of bronze Iron Age art covered in red glass enamel, completely useless for actual combat. Instead of hanging it in a hall to impress guests, some wealthy warrior tossed it straight into the River Thames as a shiny bribe to the water deities, where it sat undisturbed until 1857.




