Horncastle boar's head

Horncastle boar's head.
The Horncastle boar's head is an Anglo-Saxon ornament, silver and 40 mm (1.6 in) long, that probably was once attached to the crest of a helmet. Dating to the first half of the seventh century, it was discovered in 2002 by a metal detectorist searching in the town of Horncastle, Lincolnshire. It was reported as found treasure and purchased for £15,000 by the City and County Museum, now known as The Collection, in Lincoln. Its elongated head is semi-naturalistic, depicting a crouching quadruped on either side of the skull. Garnets form the boar's eyes, and its eyebrows, skull, mouth, tusks, and snout are gilded. The space underneath the hollow head has three rivets that would have affixed the fragment to a larger object. The fragment probably adorned the crest of a helmet similar to those in use in Northern Europe during the sixth through eleventh centuries. As of 2019 the museum has the fragment on display.