Niedermörmter helmet reconstruction

[Jeffrey Hildebrandt]

My interpretation of the ex-Guttmann Niedermörmter helmet, finished a few months ago:

The cheek pieces are missing from the only two helmets of this particular form, so I have conflated a conjectural pair from aspects of other finds that were suitable in one regard but not in their entirety.


Another incomplete aspect of the original helmet is hinted at by a copper-alloy flange mounted just under the nape, which is pierced with three vertical slots. The slots are well suited for articulating additional plates to, and helmet types like the Niederbieber indicate that expectations for neck coverage were changing in that direction. I added two additional lames with articulation slots the same as on the original flange, and found that the neck guard worked very well - it completely covered the back of the neck without impeding movement.


The rest of the original helmet is complete. A few interesting aspects of this helmet's construction are the pierced brow guard, lathe-spun apical cap with captive ring, handle with acorn terminals, mouse-and loaf motif, broad edge bindings and meters of fiddly pearl trim.



Thanks for looking. If you are interested, there are more photos for viewing on the Royal Oak Armoury FB and Flickr pages.