Late Roman Attic helmets

[Nathan Ross]

Colonel Macdowall:

"The helmets worn by the men on the left are the late roman style Attic helmets of single bowl construction... the men in the tower wear ridge style helmets which, unlike the Attic style, have been confirmed by Archeology."

I think the desire to see ridge helmets in late Roman art is often just as willful as that to see Niederbieber types in third century mosaics. Those helmets on the Arch may appear to have ridges, but they do not otherwise resemble anything known from archaeology.

Nor do I believe that these are two different types of helmet - actually I've long thought that they, and others known only from pictures and sculpture, form a sort of family of helmet development stretching from perhaps the end of the 2nd century through to the 5th or even 6th, parallel to the Gallic/Italic/Niederbieber and ridge types known from archaeology, but so far undiscovered.

The earliest depiction might be this one, from the tombstone of Aelius Septimus, late 2nd or early 3rd century:

   

It looks like a one-piece helmet bowl, but with the characteristic brim rising to an inverted V in the front. A very similar helmet is shown on the tombstone of Ares, from a similar date (II/IIIc.):

   

This one also shows the crest attachment, which becomes quite a distinctive feature.

The tombstone of Severius Acceptus (probably mid 3rd century) has a simpler portrayal of what is surely the same sort of helmet. The inverted V at the front now appears as an 'attic' style brow guard.

   

Compare that with the helmets shown on the Dura Europos synagogue paintings, of similar date:

   

These appear to show a ridge bisecting the helmet bowl - either an extension of the rather elaborate crest or an indication that the bowl was made in two halves (perhaps a development of the older style?)

Next there's the early 4th-century helmets from the Arch of Constantine:

   

I think there are definite similarities with the earlier styles here - the raised 'attic' peak shaped like an inverted V, the sloping rim and integral neckguard. These don't appear to have crest (there's a bunch of feathers or something in front instead), but some others shown on the Arch do.

This same sort of helmet shows up later on the Column of Theodosius:

   

   

This, I would suggest, is one of the final developed forms. The other might be those helmets with the deep rims shown on the Egyptian ivories. But they could well be very similar.

What the actual helmet(s) looked like would be difficult to accurately determine - although I'm often struck by the similarity to a traditional fisherman's sou-wester (google images of them and you'll see what I mean!). With the brim folded up at the front they have almost exactly the form of the Arch of Constantine or Column of Theodosius helmets - with the brim folded down they resemble the Egyptian ivory carvings...