Officer Helmets

[caiusbeerquitius]

I don´t think that we actually can say what helmets officers were wearing until we find a helmet that has a clear context as being an officer´s helmet. All else is mere speculation. Apulo-Corinthian helmets (As has been discussed elsewhere there are no helmets classified "Etrusco-Corinthian" in the current helmet typologies) cannot be proven to have been in use after ca 300 BCE, all we have afterwards is representation, and this representation is in most cases quite unclear as to which helmet type is actually depicted...

[Theodosius the Great]

The Romans, especially the upper classes, loved imitating Hellenistic styles. A safe assumption can be that the officers wore Hellenistic helmets from the Eastern Meditarranean. It would be consistent with a number of statues depicting emperors in Hellenistic panoply and attire. During all the Macedonian and Mithridatic Wars the Romans must have picked up all kinds of equipment. So, maybe a Thracian or Thraco-Attic helmet could have a been popular choice with philhellenic Roman officers or even regular legionaries.

~Theo

[Alma]

I've made some rechereche work on Roman high rank officer helmet and posted them on facebook, but I do not know if that social network is allowed to link in here?

[Robert Vermaat]

I've made some rechereche work on Roman high rank officer helmet and posted them on facebook, but I do not know if that social network is allowed to link in here?

You can link to FB, but by far not all members have memberships there. Therefore it would be better to publish your work also in this forum.

[Theodosius the Great]

I've made some rechereche work on Roman high rank officer helmet and posted them on facebook, but I do not know if that social network is allowed to link in here?

That sounds very interesting!

I hope you can post some of your research here on the forum as Robert suggested.

[Kai]

I've made some rechereche work on Roman high rank officer helmet and posted them on facebook, but I do not know if that social network is allowed to link in here?

Considering the ludicrous copyright on FB, you are probably even better of presenting your ideas here anyway. I for one would like to read them very much!



As for the question of value of a helmet... I was surprised when I read in the CTh that fabrica in Antioch was to produce 14 helmets per month, of which 8 had to be plated with gold and silver. Certainly the Roman army did not have an officer corps making up 60% of the whole manpower :mrgreen:

Roman society was highly stratified in every way, but I doubt military helmets were important markers of a whatsoever status. Other symbols did that, imo.

[Alma]

Bracara Augusta is Braga in Portugal ?

[Nathan Ross]

Bracara Augusta is Braga in Portugal ?

Yes. The various cohortes Bracaraugustanorum were presumably raised around this area originally. By the time of the helmet's deposit, however, it's doubtful there were any ethnic Bracari left in the ranks!