Iron Age craftsmen did not have the technology to create mirrors from glass. Instead, a reflective surface was achieved by polishing metal. Some iron mirrors have been found but the most spectacular mirrors are cast from bronze. Mirrors were an ideal medium for conspicuous ornament and skilful craftsmanship and may well have been symbols of status. They are usually large and are decorated on the back with La Tène designs. These decorated mirrors were only made in Britain. So far the oldest examples of these mirrors have been found in Cornwall at Trelan Bahow and at Bryther in the Scilly Isles.

A great deal of care and preparation went into the layout of the designs seen on the back of mirrors. Mirrors such as the one recovered from Holcombe in Devon show traces of compass lines used to lay out the design. The decorative circles and loops were then incised or cut into the metal surface. All Iron Age mirrors have a handle with an end loop, suggesting they could have been hung on a hook when not in use.

Mirrors have been recovered from some of the few Iron Age graves known in Britain. Where it has been possible to determine, it seems that these objects are most commonly associated with women.