There is no evidence that the helmet was decorated, while the minerals found in the helmet suggest that it was initially buried in waterlogged conditions. Samples from the helmet were analysed and shown to be made of an iron, whose composition is typical of the early medieval period. The metal is 1-2mm thick and would absorb the impact from a weapon. The circumference of the helmet is similar to that of other early medieval helmets and would have been worn over a padded cap around 16mm thick. The out turned lip of the brow band was a later alteration, pushing the mail curtain away from the neck, possibly to protect an injury. The rivet holes were punched through hot metal from the outer side, ensuring a smooth exterior that would not catch bladed weapons. The hammer marks covering the surface and ragged edges of the infill plates show the helmet was made at a blacksmiths forge without benefit of additional refinement. The damage to the helmet is consistent with an object being hit by a plough or spade whilst buried. Below the brow band there is a spectacle (eye) mask and the lower edge of the brow band is pierced with circular holes, where a mail curtain may have been attached.
The helmet is made of iron bands and plates, riveted together, with a simple knop at the top. The helmet dates to before the establishment of the town and was found on the east side of the loop in the river, an area that could have been a quayside. This could indicate that Yarm was a Viking market place with the merchants and leaders living in the Kirklevington area, 1.5 miles away. Martin’s Church, Kirklevington, most of which are on loan to Preston Park Museum. There are however many pieces of Viking age sculpture that belong to St. The only previous find of this date from Yarm was a piece of 9th century cross shaft, which is now in Durham Cathedral. Yarm may not be where you would expect to find a Viking helmet. If it was genuine how had it survived in the damp earth of the tidal riverbank of the River Tees? The research has focussed on determining if the helmet is genuine and this involved analysing its materials, how it was made, its shape and functional features. In recent years a project led by Dr Chris Caple, Emeritus Reader at Durham University, has been underway to discover new information about the helmet and the findings have just been reported in the journal Medieval Archaeology 64/1.
It had never previously been researched and the age of the helmet had caused much debate until now. Known locally as the ‘Viking helmet’, it has been on loan to Preston Park Museum from Yarm Town Council for a number of decades. In the 1950s, workmen digging trenches for new sewerage pipes in Chapel Yard, Yarm, made an unusual discovery – a battered helmet. Here we share the story of The Yarm Helmet. New research has shown that a corroded, damaged helmet unearthed in Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees, in the 1950s is a rare, 10 th century Anglo-Scandinavian (Viking) helmet, the first ever found in Britain and only the second nearly complete Viking helmet found in the world.