[3] In this respect it is similar to Iron Age bronze shields that have been found, which would not have been effective against contemporary weapons and could only have been used for display purposes.

Alternatively, it has been suggested that the helmet is in any case too small for most adult males, and may have been worn by a wooden statue of a Celtic deity.

[6] Similar to the depictions on the triumphal arch of Orange is the image of a leaping figure wearing a horned helmet and holding a wheel on the Gundestrup cauldron from Denmark, dating to the 1st century BC.

[7] An Iron Age bas-relief at Brague, near Antibes in France, also shows representations of people wearing horned helmets.

Nevertheless, influenced by the iconic features of the Waterloo Helmet, modern artistic interpretations of Iron Age people tend to show them wearing horned helmets, which has led Miranda Aldhouse-Green, professor of archaeology at Cardiff University, to comment that it is "unfortunate that it has found such a firm place in many popular reconstructions of British warriors".