Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Ancient and ArchaeologyΒ  permalink

Roman helmets

• Message 1.Β 

  Posted by sagethyme (U5272261) on Thursday, 21st April 2011

  Visiting the British Museum recently with friends, I was surprised to see that Roman helmets were mostly bronze long after swords were iron.
  Googling gave mixed results on the reasons. Apparently legionaries paid for their own armour, and bronze was cheaper than iron for a long time. Iron was stronger but more expensive, and steel from what is now Austria was even stronger and even more expensive, therefore used by officers.
  Any thoughts or better information on relative costs/weights/strengths of the materials?

  Link to this forum: Roman helmets

  Report message1

• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by CASSEROLEON (U11049737) on Sunday, 24th April 2011

  sagethyme
  
  Just a suggestion, but one of the reasons why copper is used so extensively in plumbing is because it can be bent and shaped quite easily- unlike iron, it may also be lighter. So there may well have been a pay-off- a lighter helmet, better fitting and more rounded and curved, which would all have benefits. Moreover this would be consistent with what we think of generally as the equipment of the Roman soldier.. sandals for example and the short stabbing sword.
  
  It seems that a great deal of body protection is most effective when it presents a curved surface which increases the chance of the glancing and less serious blow.
  
  Cass

  Link to this forum: Roman helmets

  Report message2

• Message 3

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by TheodericAur (U14260004) on Tuesday, 26th April 2011

  Hi sagethyme
  
  Thought you might be interested in the following links..........
  
  
  
  
  
  What an amazing discovery!!!
  
  Kind Regards - TA

  Link to this forum: Roman helmets

  Report message3

• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by CASSEROLEON (U11049737) on Tuesday, 26th April 2011

  Thanks TA-
  
  Interesting links, but they do not seem to go to the heart of the matter raised..
  
  My idea of the cost-advantages and practicality of copper comes from the fact that I seem to remember that the Amerindians of what is now North West Canada used to find nobules of copper in a river (Copper River?) which were traded, and were worked up it into useful tools (within the limitations of the metal) without any real metalurgical skills.. The Inuit had round blades with which to scrape and clean the inside of hides, before the women masticated them as part of the toughening process to turn the hides into leather- finally at the expense of their teeth.
  
  Cass

  Link to this forum: Roman helmets

  Report message4

• Message 5

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by CASSEROLEON (U11049737) on Wednesday, 27th April 2011

  What those links seem to suggest is that the most elaborate helmets were made for show- for the kind of Roman games that were not intended to be lethal; and that the kind of people who could afford such things might well have also been able to afford more expensive helmets for battle use.
  
  That such a helmet was found up in Cumbria suggests that- unlike the games to entertain the "vulgar masses" in Rome- these games were intended to "put on a show" to impress the local population in the frontier zones of the Empire.
  
  When Cortes first landed at Vera Cruz he sent his cavalry to "put on a show" on the beach before the locals who had assembled to "check out" this new strange "canoe" in much the same way.
  
  Cass

  Link to this forum: Roman helmets

  Report message5

• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by sagethyme (U5272261) on Friday, 29th April 2011

  Thanks for the replies. Interesting, but there must be some information available on what the different helmets cost, in terms of legionary pay. Also whether the re-enactment people have tested the strength and performance of those impressive models. Maybe the modern versions are too expensive to risk with swords and maces!

  Link to this forum: Roman helmets

  Report message6

Back to top