A closer look
The majestic face of Anglo-Saxon warrior culture that graces every history textbook is basically just a glorified ancient jigsaw puzzle put together with guesswork. When archaeologists uncovered the famous 7th-century Sutton Hoo helmet in 1939, it wasn't a pristine metal mask. It had been violently crushed by a collapsed burial chamber into hundreds of heavily rusted, unrecognizable fragments. The intimidating face we see today is entirely the result of conservators spending years agonizingly supergluing rusted tin chips over a custom-made mold.
