leather straps for helmets

[PhilusEstilius]

There are Corinthian helmets that show small holes just behind the cheek plates where the helmet lower rim begins, this tends to indicate that such a system of leather chin straps were used. There are also small holes on some that are at the very edge of the points on the cheek plates, when I constucted my latest one some time ago I put a piece of wire through these particular holes and found that it gave the whole helmet more strength. What happens with a Corinthian when one presses against the nasal reinforce the cheek plates tend to spread outwards, however with a piece of wire in the holes at the points of the cheek plates the whole face becomes more rigid and stonger.