01-02-2012, 02:59 AM
Thanks for your help! To what time can the Venlo-helmet be dated? The Chi-Rho would point to a post Constantinian use, would not it?
Anyway, I made a quick flowchart to illustrate what we were discussing in the thread. It is in German, but I think you will understand it nonetheless.
The chart consists of three spheres of influences: Graeco-Roman, Danube-Frontier, and Iranian. It does not mean the helmets were exclusively used by these cultures but that certain traditions of making helmets come from these spheres.
The highlighted fields mark groups of helmets directly related to each other, while the arrows mark possible influences.
I dated the Deir el-Medina helmets to the mid 3rd century, mostly because the metal hinges used for attaching the cheek-guards fell out of use later on, but are classical features of earlier models. The all-enclosing cheek-guards, which do not leave the ears open, are a feature unknown to earlier spangenhelmets and might be related to the contemporary Roman tradition of enclosing the face completely. Also the clasps do not have the typical T-shape of later spangenhelmets implying an earlier date.
I think there is a link between these later Roman spangenhelmets of Type Baldenheim, which were also produced in the successor kingdoms, and the Egyptian examples. However if my dating is correct, there is a gap of two hundred years at least.
In between we find the ridge helmets clearly related to the Dura helmet, but from where the Dura helmet stems is unknown. Possibly it is also linked to the steppe tradition.
Now there are two other problems:
First, the archetype of the Danube-Frontier Spangenhelm tradition is absent. This is all the more problematic as the Spangenhelm is almost ubiquitous around 100 AD, with Germanic auxiliary forces having them just like Syrian auxiliary, and not to mention their enemies.
Second, the group of Sassanian spangenhelmets, most prominently from Nineveh, is hard to relate to the overall development. Their dating is almost impossible, although one is said to be 4th century. If true or not, the T-shaped clasps and, to a lesser extent, the scale-patterns on the bowl are either an influence for the Baldenheim-type or are themselves influenced by it. Maybe there is a link I do not see, and maybe that link is the same between the earlier Roman Spangenhelmets and Baldenheim-types.
So, what do you think? I am open for criticism and suggestions to improve the chart.
Anyway, I made a quick flowchart to illustrate what we were discussing in the thread. It is in German, but I think you will understand it nonetheless.
The chart consists of three spheres of influences: Graeco-Roman, Danube-Frontier, and Iranian. It does not mean the helmets were exclusively used by these cultures but that certain traditions of making helmets come from these spheres.
The highlighted fields mark groups of helmets directly related to each other, while the arrows mark possible influences.
I dated the Deir el-Medina helmets to the mid 3rd century, mostly because the metal hinges used for attaching the cheek-guards fell out of use later on, but are classical features of earlier models. The all-enclosing cheek-guards, which do not leave the ears open, are a feature unknown to earlier spangenhelmets and might be related to the contemporary Roman tradition of enclosing the face completely. Also the clasps do not have the typical T-shape of later spangenhelmets implying an earlier date.
I think there is a link between these later Roman spangenhelmets of Type Baldenheim, which were also produced in the successor kingdoms, and the Egyptian examples. However if my dating is correct, there is a gap of two hundred years at least.
In between we find the ridge helmets clearly related to the Dura helmet, but from where the Dura helmet stems is unknown. Possibly it is also linked to the steppe tradition.
Now there are two other problems:
First, the archetype of the Danube-Frontier Spangenhelm tradition is absent. This is all the more problematic as the Spangenhelm is almost ubiquitous around 100 AD, with Germanic auxiliary forces having them just like Syrian auxiliary, and not to mention their enemies.
Second, the group of Sassanian spangenhelmets, most prominently from Nineveh, is hard to relate to the overall development. Their dating is almost impossible, although one is said to be 4th century. If true or not, the T-shaped clasps and, to a lesser extent, the scale-patterns on the bowl are either an influence for the Baldenheim-type or are themselves influenced by it. Maybe there is a link I do not see, and maybe that link is the same between the earlier Roman Spangenhelmets and Baldenheim-types.
So, what do you think? I am open for criticism and suggestions to improve the chart.
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