Were Late Roman Ridge Helmets Really lined in Leather?

[markusaurelius]

I don't think they are original. They seem quite flat-domed - in other pictures that I have of those helmets, they seem to hold the remains together. But if I'm mistaken, they cannot be lining holes anyway (since these are on the cheek and neck plates), since in this case they are on the base ring - I believe these are the rivets attaching the bowl pieces to the base ring or even better - they are the rivets for the neck plate attachment. The Augst helmet (image below) has rivets in exactly the same spot.

I think the fact that they are flat domed does not mean that were added after. There are flat domed rivets holding the ridge piece to the bowl, on both of those helmets. Also in the second helmet[attachment=0:6gbh0k0r]<!-- ia0 AugsburgRidge-3.jpg<!-- ia0 [/attachment:6gbh0k0r] you can see a better angle of the rivet. This helmet does not appear to have a base ring, as you can see the nasal piece is attached directly to the main bowl, much like some Intercisa style helmets.

The rivets on the Augst helmet could have been added later since they clearly are holding the neck guard in place, however they do appear in a logical place to hold a neck guard.

True, the Berkasovo I also has one in roughly that spot on both cheek plates, but a mm away from a 'lining hole' - I think that's the rivet for the chin strap. It's not 'in' a lining hole, but next to it. It's also present on both cheek plates of the Berkasovo II (also a mm from a 'lining hole' - image attached), on the Nogara cheek plates (attached) and on the Christies helmet (which interestingly has no lining holes) there are two holes in that exact spot. Too much of a coincidence - I think these rivets are still there because they were the only ones present. No rivets on cheek or neck plates remain except for those in that spot.

Point well taken, as there clearly seems to be some parallel across models for the rivet for the chin strap. I guess the question still remains then for the actual helmet bowl in my opinion. There are a few photos of originals that have rivets along various points on the helmet, some near the mounting points for the neck guard, but others along the sides as well.