Phyrigian cap.

[Graham Sumner]

There is not a great deal of information as to what soldiers wore under their helmets. Naturally most Roman art will not show anything and there is next to nothing in written sources. Archeologically there are a few complete examples of hats some of which are types which do not appear in the pictorial sources. Some of them may have been used under helmets. It was probably up to the individual as to what they found most comfortable

Hats do not appear frequently in Roman art anyway but several types are known including the Phrygian. The most popular hat to judge by art was the later type called the 'Tetrarchic' cap or Pannonian. That is the 'pill box' hat favoured by late Roman re-enactors. What is surprising is that an example of such a hat was found in Egypt and is dated to Hadrianic times, well before it appears in art.

There is another wool hat which appears to be suitable for wearing under a helmet as it even has cheek pieces! However that would be more complex to make.

If you want to buy a hat rather than make one you could try http://www.medievaldesign.com/english.asp

I have found them to be very helpful.

Hope this helps

Graham.