From a Greek helmet to a dinosaur skull: wonders of ancient civilisations and the natural world

The skull of a Triceratops

With three horns, a pointed beak and a huge bony frill, the skull of Triceratops is more instantly recognisable than that of any other dinosaur. The genus was first discovered in 1887 by the American scientist Othniel Charles Marsh. Current thought suggests that there are just two distinct species, Triceratops horridus and Triceratops prorsus, but the varied shapes and sizes of their remaining skulls indicates that they came in many different forms.

Triceratops first emerged during the Late Cretaceous period, around 68 million years ago, and was wiped out by an asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago. It roamed the island continent of Laramidia, which stretched from modern-day Alaska to Mexico, alongside Tyrannosaurus rex. A partial Triceratops horn discovered in 1997 shows the teeth marks of this rival. The fact that the wound had healed suggests that Triceratops survived at least some of its skirmishes with the world’s most fearsome predator.

The sharp beak of Triceratops was suited to snipping vegetation, while rows of teeth at the back of its jaw ground up tough plant material. Fossilised skin impressions indicate that it had large scales, while its thick frills may have protected its necks from rivals’ claws or teeth. They might also have helped to attract a mate. Similarly, the horns, which were covered in a thick layer of keratin, might have had a role in dinosaur courtship, with large, symmetrical horns likely indicating robust health.

This skull, which is more than two metres long, was uncovered on private land in the famous Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota. This is one of the world’s richest fossil sites — an invaluable window into the last ecosystems on Earth to host dinosaurs. Unmistakably part of the Triceratops horridus family, this dinosaur is thought likely to have been an elderly female, with scientists giving her the nickname ‘Eterna’.

A sculptor’s model from ancient Egypt

A group of objects from the Late-Ptolemaic periods of ancient Egypt (664-30 B.C.), some of them carved in the round, others in relief, have puzzled scholars for years. They’re typically made from limestone, or occasionally wood or plaster, and usually depict kings, queens, priests, animals or architectural elements. The mystery, however, is their size: small enough to fit in the hand.

Originally, they were thought to be votive objects, but current scholarship suggests that — given their various stages of completion and the traces of guidelines that can be made out — they were, in fact, sculptor’s models: essential tools for learning how to carve in a workshop.

This statue is just 12 centimetres high, and dates to the 4th century B.C. It depicts a majestic lion, framed by a stylised mane and tufts of hair emerging from its ears. The Egyptologist Dr Robert Steven Bianchi has compared it in style to two granite lions’ heads that were inscribed for the 30th dynasty pharaoh Nectanebo I, now in the Vatican Museums. It was first recorded with Charles D. Kelekian, one of the 20th century’s best-known antiquities dealers. Together with his father, Kelekian famously sold the Metropolitan Museum of Art its head of Tutankhamun, as well as supplying a group of Assyrian relief panels to John D. Rockefeller, who subsequently donated them to the Met.

A two-billion-year-old slice of Marra Mamba Tiger Eye

Tiger Eye (also known as Tiger Iron) possesses all the vigour and intensity of an Abstract Expressionist painting, yet this composite rock was formed up to two billion years ago by forces of nature deep underground. Sometimes referred to as ‘the golden veins of early Earth’, it provides a direct link to the very beginnings of our planet’s existence.

Pre-dating animals, plants, any kind of complex life and even oxygen, it’s made from compacted bands of glistening quartz, silky strands of silver hematite and glowing red, brown and black jaspilite — all compressed into curves that resemble melted caramel. The appearance of these minerals reflects long periods of immense geological heat and tectonic pressure inside the Earth’s crust. The result is a material unlike anything else in the world.

This slice, which is just four centimetres thick but more than three metres long, is of a kind known as ‘Marra Mamba Tiger Eye’, which comes only from the Hamersley Range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The rarest of all Tiger Eye varieties, it is instantly recognisable for its wide, undulating bands and blue-green hues among the gold.

An ancient Greek helmet

Emerging between 2,300 and 2,400 years ago, Boeotian helmets were worn by cavalry, according to the Greek historian Xenophon. They were modelled on a style of felt sun hat and provided peripheral vision and unimpaired hearing — both essential when fighting on horseback. The famous ‘Alexander Sarcophagus’, now in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, shows Alexander the Great’s mounted Macedonian troops wearing them.

This Boeotian helmet — made from a sheet of bronze beaten into shape over a carved stone block — is decorated with an elegant raised pattern and ends in a fine crest. It would have been a symbol of rank and status for its wearer, and is likely to have had a matching breastplate and shield. Across later centuries, this helmet has developed a wonderful mottled red-green patina, which elevates what was once a utilitarian object to the realm of sculpture.

An Anglo-Saxon aestel

On 16 January 2022, a metal detectorist scanning a farmer’s field in Settrington, North Yorkshire, came across a small piece of gold worked into the shape of a fantastical beast, with filigree decoration and gem-set eyes.

The artefact belongs to a rare group of objects known as aestels, which are thought to have been used as pointers while reading. They’re traditionally associated with the reign of the Anglo-Saxon King Alfred the Great, between 871 and 899. Alfred unified southern England and successfully pushed back against invading Viking forces. He was also responsible for great social and educational reforms. He distributed Latin religious manuscripts translated into the vernacular to every bishopric in his kingdom, prefacing the text with a declaration that each volume would come with an aestel worth ‘50 mancusses’. A mancus was a gold coin that amounted to about a month’s wages for a skilled craftsman.

The best-known aestel was unearthed in 1693, in a field just a few miles from Athelney Abbey in Somerset, where Alfred launched his decisive counter-attack against the Vikings. Made from gold, cloisonné enamel and rock crystal, it’s now a highlight of the collection of Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum.

In keeping with British law, the detectorist who discovered the aestel coming to auction registered his find with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which later officially declared the item ‘treasure’. Its report noted that, compared to other aestels found across England — as well as in excavated Viking halls in Norway — this example is one of the largest and most richly decorated.

Ancient Wonders: Antiquities and Natural History is on view from 26 June to 1 July 2026 at Christie’s in London

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