The Battersea Shield found in the River Thames

There’s something magnetic about objects pulled from water. One such object is this Iron Age shield.

The Battersea Shield is made from sheet bronze decorated with intricate patterns and vivid red glass studs. It was found in the River Thames over 150 years ago, and it still raises questions we want answers to.

In a new video for the ongoing Secrets of the Thames exhibition at London Museum Docklands, Curator Kate Sumnall speaks with Sophia Adams from the British Museum to explore one compelling mystery: What was this shield doing in the river?

Made between 350 and 50 BCE, the shield wasn't crafted by a single artisan but by many different specialists working in Britain. What has survived is only the bronze facing – a metal covering that would have been attached to a wooden backing.

The surface features scrolls in relief, created using the repoussé technique, wherein metal is hammered from the reverse side to create raised relief designs on the front. The designs are then further emphasised with engraving and stippling. Twenty-seven red glass studs in varying sizes catch your eye, particularly the largest one at the shield’s centre.

The decoration is carefully composed of three roundels, with the dominant motifs being interlocking S-shaped forms.

Could the circular decoration represent eyes, to stare back at an enemy?

Here’s where it gets interesting. On its own, the bronze is too thin to have offered serious protection in actual combat. However, with a wooden backing, it would have been very effective. The fact that there is no evidence of battle damage could also suggest this might not have been used in active battle.

Some archaeologists suggest it was cast into the Thames as an offering to the river, or to mark the death of someone important.

The real shield is part of the British Museum’s collection and is on display at the ongoing mudlarking exhibition.

However, London Museum has an accurate and well-made replica that was used in the film. This allows us to see how those flowing patterns would have caught the light – giving us a sense of what wielding it actually looked like more than 2,000 years ago.

The magic’s not lost. The iconic shield has often appeared in popular culture – from cigarette cards in 1937 to Royal Mail stamps. It even inspired the name and tin box (instead of a standard CD case) of the 2004 EP by the electronic music bands The Orb and Meat Beat Manifesto.

Shruti Chakraborty is Digital Editor (Content) at London Museum.