Tjele helmet fragment

Tjele helmet fragment
Tjele helmet fragment
Material	Iron, bronze
Size	12 cm × 7 cm (4+3⁄4 in × 2+3⁄4 in)
Created	c. 950–970 AD
Discovered	1850 Tjele, Denmark
Present location	National Museum of Denmark

The Tjele helmet fragment is a Viking Age fragment of iron and bronze, originally comprising the eyebrows and noseguard of a helmet. It was discovered in 1850 with a large assortment of smith's tools in Denmark, and though the find was sent to the National Museum of Denmark, for 134 years the fragment was mistaken for a saddle mount. In 1984 it was properly identified by an assistant keeper at the museum as the remainder of one of only five known helmets from the Viking era.

Dating to approximately 950 to 970 AD, the Tjele fragment is joined by the Gjermundbu helmet, two fragments from Gotland, and one from Kiev, as the known Viking Age helmets. These represent the final evolution of the "crested helmets" used in Europe from the sixth century onwards,^[1][2] and known primarily for Anglo-Saxon and Vendel Period examples such as the Sutton Hoo helmet. The Tjele fragment is one of only two such helmets discovered in Denmark; the earlier Gevninge helmet fragment, made in approximately 550 to 700 AD, was discovered in 2000.