Roman helmets: Imperial Gallic/Italic and Ridge - comparisons and sources

[CaesarAugustus]

He's fallen for the discredited idea that 4th century Roman equipment was inferior to what was produced previously. In fact the opposite was true. The Diocletian reforms resulted in more standardisation, better quality control, and superior metallurgy in Roman equipment. The equipment that was issued to fourth century legionaries was among the best the Romans ever produced. This coincides, not with a collapse, but with a period of expansion and military success. The Diocletian reforms enabled the empire to survive for another 150 years.

Nope, no way. We have already seen that:

Discontinuous materials don't transmit forces. They need to be connected somehow and this connection is almost always poorer than a contiguous piece of material. If you take your medieval helmet and make it also monoblock, say via 3D printing the entire thing in one piece, you'd still have a better helmet still than made by joining two plates. Continuity is a prerequisite for forces to transmit from one molecule onto another molecule at the molecular level. This is purely material science.


And, lately I had also the opportunity to contact Professor Simon James, Evidence from Dura Europos for the origins of late roman Helmets author, and I have asked him directly about the topic, here his reply:

Many thanks for your kind email. More late Roman helmet material has appeared since my paper, but I think it is still true tht later Roman helmets were typically less well made than earlier imperial pieces. I have not published more on this myself, but see:
               
Lyne, M. (1994). "Late Roman helmet fragments from Richborough." Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies 5: 97-105.
               
Mackensen, M. (2007). "Vergoldete Bronzebeschläge mit Christogramm von spätrömischen Kammhelmen aus dem mittleren und unteren Donauraum." Bayerische Vorgeschichtsblätter 72: 355-365.
               
Oldenstein, J. (1990). "Two Roman helmets from Eich, Alzey-Worms district." Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies(1): 27-37.
               
Ubl, H. J. (1993). "Ein spätrömischer Kammhelm." Mitteilungen des Museumsvereines Lauriacum-Enns, N.F. 31: 19-26.
               
Miks, C, 2008, Spätrömische Kammhelme mit hoher Kammscheibe, RGZM Jahrbuch 55:2, 449–482

 

So, please stop to give for discredited ideas that does not fit with what you want to think.