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The Late Roman ridge helmet was a type of combat helmet of
Late Antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...
used by soldiers of the
Late Roman army In modern scholarship, the "late" period of the Roman army begins with the accession of the Emperor Diocletian in AD 284, and ends in 480 with the death of Julius Nepos, being roughly coterminous with the Dominate. During the period 395–476, ...
. It was characterized by the possession of a bowl made up of two or four parts, united by a longitudinal ridge.


Origins

In the late 3rd century, a complete break in Roman helmet design occurred. Previous Roman
helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
types, based ultimately on
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
designs, were replaced by new forms derived from helmets developed in the
Sassanid Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
. A closely related form to the Roman ridge helmets is represented by a single helmet from
Dura Europos Dura-Europos, ; la, Dūra Eurōpus, ( el, Δούρα Ευρωπός, Doúra Evropós, ) was a Hellenistic, Parthian, and Roman border city built on an escarpment above the southwestern bank of the Euphrates river. It is located near the vill ...
which is of similar construction, but has a much higher-vaulted skull. It probably belonged to a
Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
warrior of the 3rd century. This reinforces the evidence for a Sassanid origin of this type of helmet. Two main forms of helmet construction were adopted by the Romans at much the same time: the ridge helmet, described here, and the
Spangenhelm The Spangenhelm, or segmented helmet, was a popular medieval European combat helmet design of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. They are often contrasted with Eastern lamellar helmets. Construction The name Spangenhelm is of German ...
, which was likely adopted from the
Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...
. The earliest confirmed example of a Late Roman ridge helmet is the Richborough helmet, which dates to about 280 AD.


Construction

Unlike earlier Roman helmets, the skull of the ridge helmet is constructed from more than one element. Roman ridge helmets can be classified into two types of skull construction: bipartite and quadripartite, also referred to as Intercisa-type and
Berkasovo Berkasovo () is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Šid municipality, in the Srem District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,228 people (2002 census). History It was first mentio ...
-type, respectively. The bipartite construction method is usually characterized by a two-part bowl united by a central ridge running from front to back and small cheekpieces, also it lacks a base-ring running around the rim of the bowl. Some examples of the bipartite construction also utilize metal crests, such as in the Intercisa-IV and River Maas examples. The second type of helmet has a quadripartite construction, characterized by a four-piece bowl connected by a central ridge, with two plates (connected by a reinforcing band) on each side of the ridge, and a base-ring uniting the elements of the skull at the rim of the helmet; this type is further characterised by large cheekpieces. Many examples of this helmet also have a nasal. In all types it is believed that the cheekpieces were attached to skull by a helmet liner and the separate neck guard was attached by flexible leather straps, the buckles of which survive on some examples. There are notable exceptions to this classification method, which include the Iatrus and Worms helmets, which have large cheekpieces and a base ring respectively. Other helmets also contain minor variations.


Decoration

The majority of examples excavated to date have evidence of either decorative silvering of the iron, or are covered by costly silver or silver-gilt sheathing, a job entrusted to men called ''barbaricarii''. The amount of silver and gold used in the sheathing was officially graded by rank and was sometimes inscribed on the helmet. For example, the Deurne helmet has the weight of silver recorded on the outside and had 368/9 grams of silver and a small amount of gold in the gilding. Additional decoration is found on some surviving helmets; for example the Berkasovo-I example is decorated with many glass gems on the bowl, cheekpieces, and neckguard. The emperors
Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
and
Valentinian I Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor, he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces. Vale ...
are recorded as owning gem-encrusted gold helmets; in the case of the emperors, the gems would have been precious jewels, rather than paste. For a number of extant helmets, all that remains is the decorative silver or gold sheathing, the iron having corroded away entirely. A single helmet found at Intercisa in Hungary, where a hoard of 15–20 helmets was unearthed, has a tall, integral, iron crest attached to the ridge. A similar helmet found at Augst has three slots in its ridge for the attachment of a separate crest. There have also been finds of unattached crest pieces, or ones attached to only the ridge of the helmet.


Usage

Earlier Roman cavalry helmet types usually have cheek guards that have a section covering the ears, whereas infantry helmets do not. Many authors have extrapolated from this that the Intercisa-type helmets were infantry helmets, while the Berkasovo-type helmets were cavalry examples, based mostly on the existence of ear holes in the Intercisa-type. One Berkasovo-type helmet, the Deurne helmet, has an inscription to a cavalry unit of the '' equites stablesiani'', tending to support this hypothesis. However, both types of helmet are depicted being worn by infantry and cavalry in Roman art, and some finds of these helmets, such as the Burgh Castle example, show they were used interchangeably. Late Roman ridge helmets are depicted for the first time on coins of Constantine the Great and are believed to have come into use between 270 and 300 AD. The last archaeological examples date to the early 5th century, and include the River Maas Helmet, dated to 409–411 by coins of Constantine III, and the
Concești Concești is a commune in Botoșani County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Concești and Movileni. At the 2002 census, the commune had 2063 people, of whom 99.9% were ethnic Romanians; 89.6% were Romanian Orthodox an ...
example, found in a Hunnic burial. The ridge helmet remained in artistic usage well into the 7th century and possibly later. Helmets with a rounded shape are also illustrated in Byzantine manuscripts of the 10–12th centuries, and may have been derived from the earlier Roman 'ridge helmet'. Early copies of ridge helmets include the Fernpass example, dated to the 4th century and found in Austria, and believed to belong to a Germanic warrior who had his own helmet modified to look like a ridge helmet. Many helmets of the Germanic states of Western and Northern Europe in the Early Middle Ages are derivations of the Roman ridge helmet, these include the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
Coppergate helmet The Coppergate Helmet (also known as the York Helmet) is an eighth-century Anglo-Saxon helmet found in York, England. It was discovered in May 1982 during excavations for the Jorvik Viking Centre at the bottom of a pit that is thought to have on ...
..


References


Bibliography

* *Bishop, M.C. and Coulston J.C. (2006) ''Roman Military Equipment: From the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome'', Oxbow Books. * *Driel-Murray, Carol Van, (2000) ''A late Roman assemblage from Deurne (Netherlands)'', Bonner Jahrbücher, 2000 - journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de * * * * *


Further reading

*Mahand Vogt: ''Spangenhelme. Baldenheim und verwandte Typen.'' Monographien des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums 39. Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2007. . *Simon MacDowall and Christa Hook: ''Late Roman Cavalryman AD 236-565.'' *Peter Wilcox und Angus McBride: ''Rome's Enemies 3: Parthians and Sassanid Persians.'' *John Warry: ''Warfare in the Classical World: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons, Warriors, and Warfare in the Ancient Civilisations of Greece and Rome.''


External links


Documentary movie - The Valley of the golden helmets
{{helmets Late Roman military Ancient Roman helmets