Imperial-Italic D helmet:question

[FlaviusCrispus]

Having examined the Guttmann helmet first-hand (photos posted on the Legio VI Real Gear page), I have absolutely no doubts about its fundamental authenticity. There is a fair amount of conservation (read that "fill work") in the iron portions, but by and large it is original. I understand Mike Bishop's caveats: It's standard academic practice these days to cast doubt on any unprovenanced object in order to discourage "looting" (that is, unauthorized excavation and removal) of antiquities. Also, if the dimensions of the Mouse Helmet are "unwieldy," what about those of the original Neidermormter, which has a far deeper neckguard of similar breadth? Are both helmets then fake? Also, many other fragmentary finds show a strong similarity to the Italic H type, some of which are recorded in Robinson.

I agree with Peroni regarding the dating for the Italic D, Mainz and Krefeld variants. I believe they date from the very late first to the mid second century AD (ca. AD 90-140); the Neidermormter and Guttmann "mouse" helmets, I believe, are directly of this lineage and date from Antonine to early Severan times. I thus wear a Krefeld Italic D for my Hadrianic Centurio impression.

One positive note to the scholarly disagreement over dates is that reenactors of two different time periods can wear the Italic D variants and provide evidence to back it up!