Evidence for legionary vs auxiliary helmet patterns

[Tim Edwards]

I keep hearing an argument that early imperial legionaries wore mostly iron helmets and that auxiliary soldiers wore mostly copper alloy.

I have never seen any obvious evidence for early imperial legionaries wearing iron helmets, anywhere.

There are however numerous copper alloy helmets that are inscribed with legionary ownership marks. Many of these feature crest knobs and often side feather tubes.

Iron helmets meanwhile do not seem to show evidence for legionary ownership marks, and have distinctly different cresting styles. They are more often found in Iron Age style burial contexts than their copper alloy cousins.

I find the supposition of legionaries switching en masse from the copper alloy coolus to iron imperial gallic profoundly odd, when we envisage auxilia switching from iron Agen Port to copper alloy 'auxiliary infantry' types. Surely this is somehow skewed?

There will be exceptions of course, but I suspect there is an overarching trend for most of the First Century AD, of legionaries wearing copper alloy helmets,and auxiliaries wearing iron helmets.