“Spangenhelm” is a term of German origin used to refer to a helmet constructed of metal strips and plates, usually arranged in a conical design culminating in a point. Whilst a little weaker to damage than the ridge helmet, mostly along the joints, it was also a simple to produce model that facilitated a quicker and easier field repair than the bipartite ridge helmets. By the 6th Century AD this type of construction was one of, if not the most, popular in Europe. Banded and segmented bowl-shaped helmets first appear near the Roman frontier on Crimean frescoes from the 1st Century AD, and feature on Trajan’s Column (2nd Century AD) amongst captured barbarian equipment. The first Roman troops to be featured in such a design can be seen on the Arch of Galerius (3rd Century AD), with some arguing they can also be seen on the Adamklissi metopes, although that is still in debate. The argument therefore is that the spangenhelms of the later period reflect a typology tradition running parallel to their more bowl-shaped counterparts in the ridge helmet family, either being adopted by the Romans in contact with Danubian and/or eastern European barbarians or from Persian examples, a theory based on today’s example and a contemporary Spangenhelm find currently in the Leiden museum both being found in Egypt, and the continuation of the style in Persian/Sassanid iconography. 

This example is from Deir El-Medina, sometimes spelled alternatively as Dar al-Madinah, in Egypt. An ancient Theban stonemason town, the site nevertheless contained this helmet possibly belonging to a member of the Roman army. 

Unfortunately there is no more context readily available to us, crucially we have no means by which we can easily date the helmet. It therefore lies entirely on the morphology to tell us how old the piece is, and whether it truly was a Roman design (the latter being a question we will likely never have a concrete answer for). This article is therefore going to be subject to a good deal of speculation as the majority will be an analysis considering all possible solutions rather than dealing, as we prefer to, only in solid fact. 

As we can see from the images, the helmet is composed of six plates joined together by broad strips. The general shape is conical leading to a point, over which a circular plate has been riveted at the “peak” over the junction of the six strips. A broad band riveted over the rim had a line of stitch-holes near the bottom edge, and a pair of cheek plates similar in design to those found on the Berkasovo-type (albeit without any ear-holes) are attached on either side of the helmet bowl. One of the cheek pieces still contains a ring riveted to the inner-side of the plate for attaching the chin strap.

We can see a nasal protector, also a common feature of the Berkasovo-type helmets, attached to this base rim, as well as a flat neck guard riveted to the back.