Equites sagittarii (late 2nd century)

[caiusbeerquitius]

I can agree that we cannot positively establish cavalry use based on the available evidence but EXCLUDING the possibility of cavalry use based on what you think a doctor would think of medical implications of wearing it does not appear to meet the scientific standards for verifying a hypothesis you have upheld in your own post.

Of course you are correct, Jens, and if you read my posting carefully, you will see that I didn´t exclude the possibility of cavalry use. (And it is not what I think a doctor would think, but I had a discussion about this with a doctor from Murnau accident-clinic and a doctor from Enzensberg Rehab-Institute about two years ago. The discussion was mainly about insurance questions, and they both said that wearing such a helmet, which is prone to cause deadly injuries will bring every life-insurance and health-insurance to not to pay a single cent in case of an accident, whatever its consequences. As arguing goes according to the rules of logic: If someone says Niederbieber is a cavalry helmet, he needs to bring sound evidence that it is. It is not my job, having a different opinion, to bring evidence that it is not a cavalry helmet. I just need to hint at bad or erroneous arguments pro, making my contra.)

To quote myself from the very same posting:

We of course cannot exclude that here and there a cavalryman wore one of these helmets, but we should start to accept that this must have been a rare occasion, and certainly not the rule. Also a comparative look at reliefs really helps, IMO.

I assume that there is a typo in your post. These helmets (in continental Europe referred to as the Guisborough type) may qualify as "Cavalry" (?) helmets but they have nothing in common with Niederbieber helmets.

No, no typo. The overall skull shape, disregarding decoration, is basically identical. It sometimes makes sense to think outside the typologies. And of course there are again helmets that are half this and half that... As Byron said, he regarded these by appearance as "Niederbiebers" too. That´s why I put the ".."
:-)