New Iron Coolus Project

[Primvs Pavlvs]

Built this with some help from Mark Berry of Clang Armoury. Its built from a trashed WW2 US Civil Defense helmet. Its going to be our unit loaner helmet for new members. I know the evidence for an iron Coolus is scant, but this was a cheap alternative for a loaner helmet.

[lvcivs]

Very nice, Pavlvs. I can't wait to try it out this weekend, see if it looks as good on a light infantry legionary as it does on the display stand. ;-) )

[FAVENTIANVS]

WOW!

[Quintius Clavus]

Very nice looking helmet! My first time, I got into borrowed gear with Legio XX at Roman Days in Maryland and used a Coolus helmet made from an old Civil Defense helmet.

In "The Armour of Imperial Rome" H. Russell Robinson mentioned an iron Coolus helmet (Type C in his classification method), which was from Oberaden, formerly in the Detmold Museum, but destroyed during World War II. (Page 28, plate 45, Charles Scribner's Sons, NY, publisher).
Of course, he did not actually see it, but was working from photos of it as well as descriptions.

So,... while not common and probably rare, iron Coolus helmets did exist. Robinson makes a comment regarding other Coolus C's found at Schaan on page 31, and compares their cheekpieces in relation to an iron helmet found with Augustan potsherds outside the fort at Nijmegen. If he is referring to the Imperial Gallic A helmet from Nijmegen, it is a contemporary of the Schaan Coolus C helmets (the Schaan helmets are copper alloy). Thus, the Romans were working with iron for helmets, presumably did so with both types (Coolus and Imperial Gallic) during the Augustan period, but for some unknown reason the preferred metal for the two types diverged.

Quinton/Marcus Quintius Clavus