This fierce boar’s face was the first indication on site that the hoard featured this week on Digging for Britain was something out of the ordinary.
What survives is the sheet-bronze head of a boar standard, part of a fully three-dimensional figure mounted on a pole or pedestal and used as a military or ceremonial emblem. Found alongside the near-complete Norfolk Carnyx, the boar standard forms part of the same extraordinary Iron Age hoard, with both objects designed to impress and intimidate through sound, sight and symbolism.
The head was made as a separate piece, designed to slot into the rest of the structure, and measures around 22 cm long, 17 cm high and 6.5 cm wide. It is a unique find in Britain to date.
Two thin copper-alloy sheets were soldered together to form the left and right halves of the head. The features are deliberately confrontational, with heavy brows, a snarling mouth and curving tusks. Wrinkles above the mouth heighten the sense of aggression, while spiral motifs depict bristled fur along the jaw.
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Traces of the boar’s eyes survive, including the remains of a tin-alloy inlay with a small copper-alloy ring forming the pupil, probably intended to catch the light. Circular perforations above and just behind each eye once held separate ears.
An ear recovered elsewhere in the hoard may have fitted one of these openings, or may belong to another object from the assemblage. Seen together, the head and ear make the standard’s three-dimensional form much clearer, reinforcing that this was a sculptural figure rather than a flat emblem.
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In the Iron Age, the boar carried strong symbolic weight, associated with strength, protection and ferocity. Mounted high on a pole, a standard like this would have risen above a crowd or battlefield, visible from a distance. It was probably a focal point, something to gather around and move with, helping to assert identity in crowds or moments of tension.
This is the first boar standard ever recovered from a British archaeological context. While close parallels are known from continental Europe, particularly Gaul, the Norfolk example is larger and constructed differently, with its detachable head marking a distinct approach. Its discovery confirms that this tradition of monumental, symbolic display was also present in Late Iron Age Britain.
Found alongside carnyces and shield bosses, the boar standard forms part of a coherent group of martial and ceremonial equipment. Together, these objects show how power and identity were expressed through things meant to be seen, heard and experienced.
Research and conservation are being carried out in collaboration with Historic England, Norfolk Museums Service and National Museums Scotland.
Boar standards carved among the captured arms on the Arc de triomphe d’Orange, shown raised on poles above shields and armour as part of Roman representations of Gallic warfare.
Photograph: Arc antique d’Orange (detail) by EmDee, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Source: Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arc_antique_d%27Orange_-_02.jpg
