Roman helmets: Imperial Gallic/Italic and Ridge - comparisons and sources

[Nathan Ross]

what is the latest dated helmet of the Imperial gallic type?

I believe that would be the Gallic J ('Brigetio' helmet), which is assumed to be c.AD100-125.

The latest helmet of the Italic type would appear to be the 'Theilenhofen' infantry helmet, which is post AD189 and probably dates from cAD230, around the time of the fort's destruction; it apparently had one of those big pointed 'Neiderbieber' style peaks.

But it's probably the 'Neiderbieber' style (and perhaps other types that we don't know about...) that filled the gap between the Gallic/Italic and the various later composite helmets. Remains of Neiderbeiber-style skull reinforcements were found at Dura Europos, so c.AD257. This is some time after Sextus Julius Africanus, so either he wasn't complaining about this type of helmet, or nothing was done about his complaints!

The 'Richborough 1' helmet is undated, I think, but is assumed to be early based on the idea that it's a cut-down Neiderbieber type. This seems slightly dubious, mainly as the remains are at best fragmentary... The other three supposed Richborough helmets are completely undated, as far as I know.

Now that the lastest fashion in Spätererömischehelmtheoretisierung is banishing the Deir el Medineh and other 'spangenhelms' to the outer reaches of the 5th or even 6th centuries, there's not much left to bridge the gap between the last of the Neiderbiebers and the earliest composite 'ridge' helmets - whatever they might be!