Roman Infantry Helmets in Scotland

Introduction

Roman helmets in Scotland do indeed form a notable part of the countries archaeological heritage, and while the finds at Newstead for example are of outstanding international importance the frequency of small or part finds throughout Roman installations in Scotland confirm the view that the army of Britannia was equipped in line with standard Roman practice of the time and as such the equipment that would have been seen and used in Scotland parallels equipment in most other Roman theatres of operation.

Roman helmets of the Republic Period such as the simple Montefortino pattern will have been rarely seen in Scotland except as infrequent trade and booty from raiding on the continent while the earlier classical examples will have been most likely absent except those still worn by officer classes in the centuries of Roman involvement or contact with the peoples of the lands of what is now modern Scotland.

Helmets are most readily split into two categories, infantry and cavalry though officers will have had opportunity to purchase outwith standard patterns to a degree dependent on rank and position. The helmets discussed below are of standard and recognizable “Roman” manufacture, insofar as they would be produced by craftsmen or factories within the bounds of the empire. As with all great armies the Romans learnt from those they fought against and from early classical influences the emphasis for much of the period shifted to Celtic influence, then Persian influence.

Germanic influence came in a different form with gear being adopted by free Germans, developed and latterly reintroduced to mainstream Roman forces as the Romans became increasingly reliant on German recruits.

Infantry Helmets

The Coolus pattern helmet in bronze or copper alloy however will have still seen regular service under the Governors Bolanus and Cerealis but by Agricola’s time will have been largely replaced by more readily available patterns.

This type of helmet (Fig 1) was commonly spun giving the bowl a rounded shape, had a pronounced projecting neck guard and had large angular cheek pieces.

Helmets were often crowned with a knob or spike designed for the attachment of crests as well as frequently having tubes attached at the side of the bowl for feathers.

The helmets termed “Imperial Gallic" (Figs 2 and 3)

     

and "Imperial Italic" helmets (Fig 4) are broadly similar in form to each other and it is suggested differ only in the manner of their supply. Often the Gallic form, with Celtic "eyebrow" features raised form the skull may have been constructed by local indigenous craftsmen in Gaul for individual sale. Beaten as opposed to spun these helmets more closely follow the shape of the wearers head. As a result ear cut outs then latterly ear protectors are provided, elements absent from the rounded Coolus form. Neck guards are pronounced and flared, and as they develop acquire a deeper flared form.

The "Italic" helmets, found both in iron and copper alloy are much the same yet tend to ignore the Celtic iconography. It has been suggested that the construction of the Italics is to a lesser quality than the Gallic variants. It may simply be that these are the products of commercial contractors and factories from the Mediterranean and middle-east where equipment could be ordered in bulk, in which case personal adornment would not have been a priority.

However Italic helmets of later in the first century may exhibit decoration of a different form than the Gallic type and the flat bands often used in construction or reinforcement have lead this helmet type to be popularly referred to as the "hot cross bun" type Figs 5).

Both Italic and Gallic forms have fittings to enable the attachment of decorative crests, by differing means, either slot or twist (Figs 6 and 7).

     

By the turn of the 2nd century more substantial "hot cross bun" cross bars are added to helmets and in some cases these appear to have been added in service to Gallic helmets too. The suggestion has been made that these were added around the time of Trajans Dacian wars to help reinforce the helmets, an attractive suggestion given the use of the scythe like Dacian sword which were capable of delivering heavy shearing blows (Figs 8 and 9).

     

Other images of Roman infantry soldiers around this period however show a generally heavier level of protection with greaves and arm protectors common throughout the empire, suggesting a widespread practice that the Dacian wars perhaps cannot take full credit for.

The guard bars however appear to have rendered the practice of fitting crests impractical and at this time crests seem to go out of fashion in Roman infantry helmets.

This form of helmet with reinforcement bars (Fig 8) in one form or another, some much simplified like the find from Theilenhoffen, served the Roman infantry for bulk of the 2nd C however latterly the Niedermormter style of late Italic helmet supersedes it entirely.

    

These high quality helmets were the apogee of the classic Italic and Gallic forms with excellent neck and cheek protection and pleasing decoration. The hot cross bun form is maintained though these have returned to flat plate again instead of reinforcement bars. These helmets were constructed of copper alloy (figs 10 and 11) and iron with copper alloy decoration (Fig 12). These helmets will have remained in service for probably the first half of the 3rd C at the very least.

Infantry helmets, often termed auxiliary of a simpler form echoing the main forms described above were common though we have no way of knowing whether this is an accurate demarcation. A late Roman text mentions different helmets for Praetorian, legionary and auxiliary troops but goes into no detail on the differences.

As auxiliaries often came from backgrounds where they would normally expect to cherish and often decorate their equipment such a generalisation of poorer equipment seems strange, however, again such equipment may have been bulk supplied for issue to newly raised regiments where they had no Roman equipment of their own and were required to equip in such manner.

Similar helmets were probably used by both legionary and auxiliary troops following Caracalla’s extension of citizenship to all freeborn persons within the empire and the increasingly similar nature of the role played by auxiliary and legionary troops. Mid to late 2nd C cavalry forms of cavalry helmet appear to have been adopted by the infantry early in the 3rd C if not earlier (Figs 13 to 16) and will have subsequently formed the bulk of equipment used until circa 270 AD when equipment supply was dramatically overhauled.

     

     

Providing enclosing protection to the face these often leave only a narrow “T” open with closure of the cheeks being achieved by a hook at the point of overlap though earlier examples utilized an additional plate at the chin and may represent modification in service. Invariably the skull of most of these helmets, particularly infantry helmets susceptible to blows from above are reinforced by pronounced cross guards fixed by the tell-tale coned rivets which are relatively common finds on Scottish sites.

Following debilitating civil war and increased pressure on the frontiers Diocletian overhauled the Roman army around 270 AD and it would appear he did the same with equipment also.

Helmets from the late 3rd C through to the 5th C are of the "ridge" type, a simpler form of construction better suited to mass production and following a form it has been suggested derived from helmets used by the Sassanid Persians (Fig 17). The helmet skull is formed of 2 halves joined at the resultant ridge with cheek pieces and neck guards joined to the whole by being stitched to a leather liner, allowing good articulation and greatly simplified production. These helmets were variously decorated with eye motifs and pseudo Christian crosses following Constantine’s adoption of Christianity as the formal state religion in the early mid 4th C.

A case has also been made that many ridge helmets were encased in metal of a greater value such as silver or copper alloy which could in turn be burnished. These may be badges of rank or station and it is not expected that the large conscript armies of the era were all so richly finished.

Throughout the period, and particularly latterly auxiliaries, raised in large numbers from newly federated or defeated nations will have been enlisted into Roman service with their ethnic equipment to hand.

Conical helmets with flexible neck guards of mail or scale were an eastern style that persisted through to the crusading era. These were famously and iconically celebrated as archers’ equipment on Trajan’s column and units of Middle Eastern origin, such as the Syrians stationed at Bar Hill in the mid 2nd C will have likely been equipped with such helmets fabricated in Roman workshops (Figs 18).

Postscript:

The ridge helmet, which served he Romans well for likely over 200 years had an enduring influence on Germanic and Scandinavian helmet construction up to the 8th C but little beyond.

The common “spangenhelm”, of Sarmatian or middle-eastern origin continued as the preferred method of construction through to the dark ages.

High quality Roman helmets certainly were prized and valued heirlooms that lived on over generations, or indeed were deposited as high quality votive offerings, however the mass production techniques employed by the Romans were only carried on by the eastern empire, latterly termed Byzantine and were not to be repeated in such volume until the modern industrial age.

©2007 Roman Scotland. All Rights Reserved
First Published October 2007