 The finder discovered the helmet and visor buried together some 25 cm ( 10 in ) below the surface , at a site located on a ledge at the lower end of the settlement . It had been placed onto two stone slabs at the bottom of a hole which had been back @-@ filled with soil . A stone cap had been laid on top . The helmet was found in 33 large fragments and 34 small fragments and had apparently been folded before burial . The visor was mostly intact and had been placed face down . The griffin had become detached and was found with the helmet . No other artefacts were found at the time , but the subsequent Tullie House / PAS excavations at the findspot discovered a number of copper and iron objects , a bead and two Roman coins dating to between 330 @-@ 337 . The coins were found within the artificial stone feature in which the helmet had been deposited and may have been buried at the same time . 
