Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of the Celts - Rodney Castleden - Страница 166

A very fine horned helmet made of bronze was deposited in the Thames River at Waterloo Bridge in the first century BC. It was found in 1868.

Like the Battersea shield, also found in the Thames (See Art), this was almost certainly not an accidental loss, but a deliberate deposit in water. The horns may have been intended to combine ferocity and potency symbolism. The bronze was originally enameled. It is a masterpiece of the armorer’s craft, and it is possible that it was made to adorn a wooden statue of a god rather than to be worn by a mortal in battle; it would scarcely protect the wearer from a well-aimed sword blow. The Romans had an equivalent to this in their decorative parade helmets.