'Very Rare' Ancient Celtic Helmet Unearthed Among Hundreds of Artifacts

A "very rare" Celtic helmet that could be up to about 2,400 years old has been unearthed at an archaeological site in Poland. The helmet was uncovered at the "Łysa Góra" site in Poland's Mazovia region by a team from the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw and the Department of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw. The find was among nearly 300 other artifacts that were uncovered during excavations this year, Science in Poland reported.

According to excavation leader Bartłomiej Kaczyński, the helmet is the first of its type to be found in Poland and an example of advanced Celtic metallurgy. "At first we thought it might be some kind of ancient vessel, because bronze vessels are much more common on Polish soil than helmets. It was only during the discovery of one of the characteristic elements, the so-called neck piece—i.e. an arched plate near the edge—that Dr. Andrzej Maciałowicz of the UW Department of Archaeology pointed out that it could be a helmet," Kaczyński, who is affiliated with the State Archeological Museum, told Science in Poland. The helmet is thought to be associated with the Late Iron Age La Tène culture of the European Celts, which spread across much of the continent. This culture originated in the mid-5th century B.C. when Celtic peoples came into contact with Greek and Etruscan influences from the south of the Alps. It persisted for several centuries, passing through several phases, until disappearing just before the turn of the first millennium B.C. when most Celtic lands came under the control of Rome. The culture's name is derived from the site of La Tène on Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where the first associated objects were excavated in the late 19th century. The helmet found recently at Łysa Góra is believed to date to the early La Tène period, which lasted between the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. Helmets from this period are very rare finds, according to Kaczyński. "The discovery is important because it is the first such early La Tène helmet found on Polish soil," Kaczyński told Newsweek. "Discovered in the northern part of Mazovia, northeastern Poland, it is a find completely isolated from the native lands of the Celts—southern Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Its presence, along with several dozen artifacts of La Tène provenance—tools, women's ornaments, clasps for fastening clothes—testify to the presence of Celts at this site." Łysa Góra is a sandy dune in the marshes of the Orzyc River valley. From about the 6th or 5th century B.C., the site was used by the so-called West Balt Barrow Culture. But evidence suggests that in the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C., Celts appeared at the defensive settlement—probably to guard an amber trade route. "The discovery of the helmet indicates that Łysa Góra was a very important place on the route—a type of trading post," Kaczyński said. Previous archaeological investigations at Łysa Góra conducted as late as the 1970s and 1980s yielded La Tène artifacts, but they were mostly small and primarily fragments of objects that may have ended up at the site as a result of trade. "However, the helmet is an example of the most advanced Celtic metallurgy and it seems that it may have been in the possession of a Celt. It was probably not given to this population, which existed at that time on the outskirts of any ancient world," Kaczyński told Science in Poland. "The helmet, together with other Celtic finds, is evidence of the presence of the Celts—it is the most documented place of their stay in the northeast. If it were only a helmet, then one could consider trade or so-called import," Kaczyński told Newsweek. The helmet was made of thin bronze sheet, originally lined with leather or fabric, according to Kaczyński. "It probably served not only a function of emphasizing the position of its owner, but also a military one. It was an item associated with Celtic elites, as evidenced by the finds of similar helmets from princely burials in Durrnberg near Hallein, Austria, and Berru in the Marne department, France," he told Newsweek. The recent investigations at Łysa Góra also uncovered hundreds of other items related to farming, logging and animal husbandry. The team excavated so-called ax blades—iron axes with rectangular sections. They also found scythes for cutting grass or grain, as well as shear blades, probably designed for trimming sheep's wool. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about archaeology? Let us know via science@newsweek.com. Update 9/30/24, 1:21 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include additional comment from Bartłomiej Kaczyński.