In what condition was the helmet found?

Shattered into hundreds of fragments

Sutton Hoo Helmet Quiz: Rebuilding an Anglo-Saxon Masterpiece

This sutton hoo helmet quiz pieces together a crushed treasure. Play 10 interactive questions on Basil Brown's 1939 excavation in Suffolk, a ship burial likely for King Rædwald, an iron helmet shattered into hundreds of pieces, reconstructions in the 1940s and 1971, a face mask with a dragon and bird design, its home in the British Museum and the film The Dig.

Start Sutton Hoo Helmet Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Year
When was the Sutton Hoo ship burial excavated?
Digger
Which local excavator first uncovered the ship?
County
In which English county is Sutton Hoo?
King
Who is most likely buried there?
State
In what condition was the helmet found?
Rebuild
When was the current reconstruction made?
Mask
What creature design forms the eyebrows and nose?
Metal
What is the helmet mainly made of?
Museum
Where is the helmet displayed?
Film
Which 2021 film told the story of the excavation?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: When was the Sutton Hoo ship burial excavated?
Answer: 1939
On the eve of war.
Q2: Which local excavator first uncovered the ship?
Answer: Basil Brown
A self-taught archaeologist.
Q3: In which English county is Sutton Hoo?
Answer: Suffolk
In East Anglia.
Q4: Who is most likely buried there?
Answer: King Rædwald
Of East Anglia.
Q5: In what condition was the helmet found?
Answer: Shattered into hundreds of fragments
Crushed by the collapsed chamber.
Q6: When was the current reconstruction made?
Answer: 1971
After an earlier attempt.
Q7: What creature design forms the eyebrows and nose?
Answer: A flying dragon or bird
Wings and a tail.
Q8: What is the helmet mainly made of?
Answer: Iron with decorated bronze panels
Once polished bright.
Q9: Where is the helmet displayed?
Answer: The British Museum
In London.
Q10: Which 2021 film told the story of the excavation?
Answer: The Dig
With Ralph Fiennes.

A Crushed Helmet Made Whole

In 1939, on the eve of the Second World War, self-taught excavator Basil Brown uncovered the imprint of a great ship buried at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. The burial, rich with treasures, most likely belonged to King Rædwald of East Anglia.

The iron helmet had been crushed when the burial chamber collapsed, leaving hundreds of fragments. A first reconstruction was made in the 1940s, and the current version was completed in 1971 at the British Museum. Its face mask features a flying dragon or bird forming the eyebrows, nose and mouth.

Made of iron with decorated bronze panels, the helmet once shone brightly. It is displayed in the British Museum, and the 2021 film The Dig, starring Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown, brought the excavation story to a wide audience.

What This Quiz Teaches

History fans will enjoy these questions.

When the burial was found
Who dug it
Who was buried there
How the helmet was rebuilt
Where it is now

Did You Know?

Royal Armouries made a gleaming replica.
No body survived in the acidic soil.
Edith Pretty owned the land.
She donated the treasure to the nation.
The ship was about 27 meters long.