Helmet for Traianic and Hadrianic impression (please help)

[Tita Iuventia Martia]

Salvete omnes,
I would like to purchase some helmet, which will be correct for bought Traianic and Hadrianic legionary impression. I prefere The Imperial Italic ones but I am a bit confused about right type of helmet.

My friend has tould me that also Imperial Italic G (The Hebron subtype) is correct I am not sure... I have tried to search in the Robinson typology and I have read, that this type was found in Hebron (probably lost by some legionary) during the Jewisch revolt in ca. AD 133-135 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. And it is a bit later that 98 AD - 117.
Please, can you help me?

Thanks and regards :-) )

[Tita Iuventia Martia]

And I also found this interesting article:
http://www.legionsix.org/Equipment/Basi ... helmet.htm
Yes, this legionaries portray Hadrianic period, but...

[Magnus]

Any of the later Gallic style helmets would be fine for Trajanic...we do early 2nd (and also late 1st), and most of my guys use gallics (including me). I'd agree that the Hebron helmet is a bit late...

That webpage you posted seems a bit out of date...there probably wouldn't be too many Coolus type helmets in the early 2nd century...and certainly no "trooper" helmets (that's the incorrect one at the bottom!).

[Tita Iuventia Martia]

Ave Magnus,
thank you for you usefull opinion. I checked out the Imperial Italic type G from my personal list of correct helmets for Traianic impression, because I also mean that this Italic G helmet is a bit later than Traianic period. I have read, that this helmet was probably developed after the Traianic Dacian wars, not before.

I am interested in a new Imperial Italic J helmet made by Daniel craft (you can see it here: http://www.armamentaria.com ). Is this helmet correct? I searched in the Robinson typology and there are two finds:
Imperial Gallic IGJ 01 (Caerleon) found in Bregetio, Hungary and the date is AD 100 - 125. And the second one, Imperial Gallic IGJ 02 (Vienna), the same datation.
So, this helmet is, IMO, correct.., I hope :-) )

And what do you mean about a cross bar reinforcement? I think that is quite usefull against Dacians ;-) ) . I am going to customise my helmet... :-) )

Since Romans have met Dacians during the reign of the emperor Domician, the cross bar reinforcement will be correct also for Traianic period, I hope... I guess so because of a lot of scenes on the Traian column... I recognised legionaries wearing helmets with the cross bars. So I infered from facts that this usefull improvement is quite tipical for this period.

I also have read, that this improvement is not so necessary for correct impression, but that it is better to have it.

I hope, that I am right ;-) )

thank you and best regards :-) )

[Magnus]

Yep, you'll be fine with that.

[Celer]

Salve,

If you are interested in the Gallic 'J' helmet from Armamentaria, you could always contact the company's owner - 'Peroni', he's a regular on this forum. For an additional fee he may be able to put on the cross-bars, though be aware that you will need to 'sacrifice' the crest-holder to fit them. However, as he has pointed out before, you don't need the cross-bars for a Trajanic impression. The Adamclissi metopes quite clearly show soldiers with both cross-brased helmets, and with unaltered helmets still with their crest-holders.

Hope this helps.

Vale,

Celer.

[Tita Iuventia Martia]

Salve,
thank you all for your help :-) ) It helped so much. I will contact Adrian for other informations about the customising possibilities.
vale and regards :-) )

[Peroni]

This question has been asked a few times before and somewhere I posted a detailed reply with photos and links to all known cross-braced helmets (Some of which are commercially available)

Have you seen this? http://www.romanarmy.net/trajhelmets.htm

Gallic J is OK, Gallic I types, Italic G types (there are a few variations of these - check the helmet database)

(Berzobis, Szöny, Brigetio, Hebron, Theilenhofen etc.)

Also dated to the same late First C as the Gallic J you have the Auxiliary B which has the same high angled browguard.

Then you also have the retro-fitted crossbracing on the helmet from Berzobis, which is for all intents and purposes of the Gallic F/G/ H type.

[Tarbicus]

Illustration of a Roman legionary during the Dacian Wars (start of the 2nd-C AD), for the book, 'Roman Military Equipment: 2nd edition' by M C Bishop and J C Coulston .

http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l469 ... _small.jpg

[Tita Iuventia Martia]

I guess I will have to use something like the gallic H or italic D and add cross bracing to it. I'm quite small and I'm afraid that the neck-guard of gallic J would end somewhere bellow my shoulders (judging from photos), and italic G fits better into later period.

My current gallic H is nearly too big for me, that is, the neck guard hangs so low that it scrapes against my hamata when I move my head wrong. So I have to select my helmets not only so they will fit the period but also so they will fit myself. Especially since the shoulders on segmentata are somewhat.. bigger.. than on a hamata.

[Doc]

I would not use an Italic D helmet for this purpose. This would make the helmet less "accurate". I think Peroni's suggestion is correct to use helmets that have this type of retrofit.
The objective is to give a proper or reasonable interpretation of a particular kit in a particular time frame. Retrofitting the Italic D helmet when there is no evidence for it, while there are clearly helmets with evidence for cross-bracings retrofits, does not seem like a good idea to me.