The Benty Grange helmet is a boar-crested helmet of Anglo-Saxon origin, from the 7th century. It was excavated by Thomas Bateman in 1848 from a burial mound at the Benty Grange farm in Monyash in western Derbyshire. The grave had probably been looted by the time of Bateman's excavation, but still contained the helmet and other high-status objects suggestive of a richly furnished burial, such as the fragmentary remains of a hanging bowl. The ornate helmet was constructed by covering the outside of an iron framework with plates of horn and the inside with cloth or leather, now decayed. It would have provided some protection against weapons, but may have also been intended for ceremonial use. It was the first Anglo-Saxon helmet to be discovered; others have been found at Sutton Hoo, at York, at Wollaston, at Shorwell, and in Staffordshire. The Benty Grange helmet is displayed at Sheffield's Weston Park Museum, which purchased it from Bateman's estate in 1893.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benty_Grange_helmet> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1918: With the signing of the Act of Union, Denmark recognized the Kingdom of Iceland as a fully sovereign state in personal union through a common monarch. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Iceland> 1923: The Gleno Dam in the Italian province of Bergamo failed due to poor workmanship, flooding the downstream valley and killing at least 356 people. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleno_Dam> 1971: A period of political and economic reforms in the Socialist Republic of Croatia came to an end as the League of Communists of Yugoslavia decided to purge the state's reformist leadership. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_Spring> 1988: Five armed men hijacked a bus carrying schoolchildren and a teacher in Ordzhonikidze (now Vladikavkaz, Russia), and were later given an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft and ransom for the release of the hostages. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Ordzhonikidze_bus_hijacking> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: tip of the iceberg: (idiomatic) A small indication of a larger possibility; the first part encountered of a problem that is much bigger than it seems. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tip_of_the_iceberg> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: The more you put in a brain, the more it will hold — if you have one. --Might as Well Be Dead <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nero_Wolfe#Might_as_Well_Be_Dead> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe write to: [email protected] Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
