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Late Bronze Age Boar\'s Tusk Helmet
#1
I am posting a recent project. One of my students was interested in reconstructing the boar's tusk helmet described in Homer's Iliad. She purchased two actual tusks, made latex molds, and then produced polymer resin castings of the originals, which needed sanding and reshaping. I then worked out a conical cowhide core or armature and laced the tusks onto it with cord through holes drilled into the tusks and the leather core. We based the design on reconstructions in various Greek museums as well as on depictions of the helmets in Mycenaean ivory reliefs. There is additional leather piping between each row of tusks. The interior has a leather suspension for adjustable fit. The finished piece is remarkably light and flexible.


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David Castriota
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#2
Very interesting project! Looks nice. I am not familiar with the data on this type of helmet, but would the tusks not have overlapped slightly like on a shingle roof, offering more protection as the tusks met? Just wondering, no disrespect for this nice piece.
Salvete et Valete



Nil volentibus arduum





Robert P. Wimmers
www.erfgoedenzo.nl/Diensten/Creatie Big Grin
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#3
Quote:I am posting a recent project. One of my students was interested in reconstructing the boar's tusk helmet described in Homer's Iliad. She purchased two actual tusks, made latex molds, and then produced polymer resin castings of the originals, which needed sanding and reshaping. I then worked out a conical cowhide core or armature and laced the tusks onto it with cord through holes drilled into the tusks and the leather core. We based the design on reconstructions in various Greek museums as well as on depictions of the helmets in Mycenaean ivory reliefs. There is additional leather piping between each row of tusks. The interior has a leather suspension for adjustable fit. The finished piece is remarkably light and flexible.

this reminds me of Sarmatian/Hun Lamellae armor. Awesome!
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#4
On extant examples from Mycenae the pieces generally don't overlap much if at all. The holes are usually drilled in the top and bottom rather than the sides.
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen & Sword Books
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#5
So how many boar tusks are needed for a helmet.?

The museum examples are probably boar tusks as they come from grave of the ultra elite class but the number of art depictions of the helmet even with common troops makes me think that only boar-tusks but also the other bones were used as well.

Kind regards
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#6
Quote:So how many boar tusks are needed for a helmet.?
Generally no more than two per boar. Did I win?
8) :grin: :woot: Confusedilly:
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)

Saepe veritas est dura.
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#7
Quote:So how many boar tusks are needed for a helmet.?
"between twenty and fifty boars would have been needed for a single helmet"

Source: D. Howard, Bronze Age Military Equipment, (Barnsley: Pen and Sword Military), 2011. p. 83

So, anywhere between forty and a hundred tusks. The disparity is mainly due to the number of rows of tusks in the helmet and whether tusks are also used to make the cheek guards or not. My boars tusk helmet is based on an extant example that had cheek guards made of bronze.
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen & Sword Books
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#8
Hi.
This helmet took 88 tusks, including the cheek pieces. I tried lacing the ends, but this seemed to leave too much movement. The holes go in on only one edge and come out in the middle of the underside, which secures them well.
Thanks for the comment,
David
David Castriota
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#9
(05-24-2013, 12:01 AM)Rhun Wrote: I am posting a recent project. One of my students was interested in reconstructing the boar's tusk helmet described in Homer's Iliad. She purchased two actual tusks, made latex molds, and then produced polymer resin castings of the originals, which needed sanding and reshaping. I then worked out a conical cowhide core or armature and laced the tusks onto it with cord through holes drilled into the tusks and the leather core. We based the design on reconstructions in various Greek museums as well as on depictions of the helmets in Mycenaean ivory reliefs. There is additional leather piping between each row of tusks. The interior has a leather suspension for adjustable fit. The finished piece is remarkably light and flexible.

gorgeous project all respect for effort!!!  Rolleyes
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