This magnificent shield was found in the River Thames in 1857, where Battersea Bridge stands today. It dates to the Iron Age, between 350 and 50 BC. The Battersea shield is not actually a complete shield, but only the facing – a metal cover that was attached to the front of wooden shield.
The Battersea shield does not show signs of having been damaged in combat, but this does not necessarily mean that it was not used in warfare. Flamboyant display seems to have been an important part of Iron Age battles, and both weapons and armour are often highly decorative. This decoration is sometimes hidden. Even the handle of the Battersea shield was very ornate. Perhaps the swirling designs were believed to hold magical or protective properties which empowered the warriors who fought with these objects. The highly polished bronze and glinting red glass on the shield would certainly have made for a great spectacle. Ultimately, though, it was thrown or placed in the River Thames, where many weapons were offered as sacrifices in the Bronze and Iron Ages.
Iron Age shields are not commonly found. Those shields excavated from Iron Age burials were made of wood, sometimes covered with leather. They have very few metal parts. The Battersea shield is made from different parts of sheet bronze, held together with bronze rivets and enclosed in a binding strip. All the rivets are hidden by overlaps between different components where the panels and roundels were originally attached to the organic backing.
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