The helmet bowl, as well as the adjoining brow band, cheek pieces and ridge are, as with the Berkasovo helmet, heavily embossed with animal motifs, S-hook shapes and other geometric designs as well as a series of decorative glass gemstones to add further panache to this already-striking helmet.
The true curiosities of this helmet however are the upward-pointing silver buckles on the ridge and one on each bowl half which it is speculated (and indeed highly likely) can be used to attach a crest, as seen in the reconstruction owned by group member Matthew Richardson (made by the Pustelak Brothers Workshop). Our reconstruction has chosen to use horse hair for the crest as this is attested in contemporary sources of the time and Matthew represents a cavalry officer, although on the whole it is more likely a helmet crest would feature feathers (as seen on several other reconstruction helmets in the group).
“Inde apicem cristasque iuba componit equina” - “Where a horse's mane formed the top and crest” (referring to a helmet worn by an officer)
Corripius, De Bellis Lybicis, line 495
These adornments likely mark the helmet as suitable for a high-ranking officer in the Late Roman Army, although as discussed in the Berkasovo and our Helmet Overview articles (link below) there is no solid evidence to indicate these helmets could not be worn by lower-ranking soldiers. Unfortunately this is all we can discern from this particular example; without further information provided either by the find itself or the context in which it was discovered, we are left to guess who the soldier originally wearing the piece might have been. Given the context of the site, it seems reasonable to assume he was a member of the Roman army between the turn of the 4th century AD and the demise of the site in approximately AD 350 - more likely he lived closer to the end of this period, given the likelihood such a fabulous item would not have been left to lie in a riverbed had there not been repeated attacks and pressure from encroaching tribes from the north. Was the bearer an officer of the local garrison, perhaps slain in its defence, maybe during the final days of Aquincum's occupation? Or was the helmet somehow lost, ending up in the river near the city, not to be discovered again for over 1,000 years?
As ever, we will unfortunately have to accept we simply do not know and accept we do not have a concrete answer. We do however have a fantastic find of a beautiful helmet that speaks of the incredible equipment quality of the late Roman army.
