The helmet fragment is from the Zähringer Burgberg, one of if not THE mightiest Burgberg of the Alamanns, maybe associated with the Alaman king Gundomad mid 4th century. Its a cheek guard with a golden copper frame.
That pic is from the catalogue Die Alamannen, Stuttgart 1997, p. 107. Im sorry I dont have more information about it.
What do you or anyone think is the cheek guard I referred to from the Zähringer: is that part of an Intercisa style helmet? That would be quite interesting. For as far as I know there are no Intercisa helmets found in the Barbaricum (correct me If Im wrong) - a picture very different from the Spangelmet finds which are spread all over the Roman world and outside its limites.
Here's your image, enlarged a bit.
I'm not sure if it's an Intercisa type. It could be, but the metal edge is unlike those seen on the other types.
Mmmmh, it looks rather more like a Spangenhelm cheek-piece... :?
More opinions, please? 8)
Aitor
I also believe it may be a spangenhelm cheek plate. I had seen it before and made that assumption. I'll see if I can find more info on it. I believe I have it in my early armour files somewhere.
Does anyone still have an image of this cheek piece. The trim with the rivets seems interesting considering the questions posed in the other thread.
O.K. ---I'll try:
[attachment=2:2rp609a0]<!-- ia2 zähringer-cheekpiece.jpg<!-- ia2 [/attachment:2rp609a0]
Here's two likely (?) cadidates -- also from the same book:
1. Gültlingen-Spangenhelm (6th cent. AD)
[attachment=1:2rp609a0]<!-- ia1 spangenhelm-gültlingen.jpg<!-- ia1 [/attachment:2rp609a0]
2. Ridgehelmet(s) Augsburg-Pfersee (4th cent. AD)
[attachment=0:2rp609a0]<!-- ia0 ridgehelmet-pfersee.jpg<!-- ia0 [/attachment:2rp609a0]
When looking at the ornaments on the golden edge-sheets of the "Zähringer-cheekpiece" I'd say:
Less "artistic" than on the two other samples. This "Kerbschnitt"(?) ornaments reminds more of
"germanic" artisanary than "roman" or "eastern" ornamentary -- that means on all
Spangenhelmets I've seen so far. But that doesn't necessarily rule out the possibility of this cheekpiece being
a part of a Spangenhelm or a ridgehelmet of all kinds.
I'm not quite sure whether I've seen enough samples of this kinds of helmets.
Greez
Simplex
Thanks Siggi. What is the reference on that fragment? Is is associated to the main helmet in your second pic, or is it simply a fragment on its own that is shown in the publication?
In fact the fragment 's got nothing to do with the helmets depicted, I included them because I thought it would clarify the problem of the attribution of this fragment to a certain type of helmet.
Sorry for the misunderstandings here.
Greez
Simplex
okay thanks. So what does the book attribute it too, or what kind of finds was this fragment associated to?
....first I'd herewith like to refer to what Natuspardo (Jens W.) wrote in the first posting above .....
And then : The Zähringer Burgberg, asides a medieval castle, holds a hilltop settlement/residence from 4th cent. AD,
famous, besides a host of smaller finds, for its massive "earth movements" to form a larger plain
on top of that hill. Up to now it's the largest of similar hilltop settlements from these times found in
the Upper Rhine Valley. It's roman military counterparts would be the complex of Fortresses at Biesheim-Odenbourg (F)
= Argentovaria and at Breisach (Mons Brisiacum/Brisiaco), together with further fortlets e.g. at Sasbach-Jechtingen-Sponeck.
There are similar places near Offenburg (Geisskopf and Kügeleskopf , evidently not fortified) with military finds on hilltops --
this one is opposed to the Roman military complex of Straßbourg(F) [ and maybe Kehl(D) ??].
Opposed to the miltary complexes of Kaiseraugst (CH; =Castrum Rauracense) and Basel (CH, =Basilia) we have the
Hertenberg (D/CH?).
All these places did show a large number of military finds, but I don't know/ I can't remember, whether there have been helmet
fragments or not.
There is a paper (in French) about Biesheim-Oedenbourg which offers some maps/tables that may give some overview.
[url:dyn7a9nf]http://eva.unibas.ch/?c=51137[/url]
e.g. pg. 26 of 63
As far as I can tell : no helmet fragments mentioned in there. :wink:
Greez
Simplex