About redesigned Roman helmets

The paper discusses a series of atypical helmets of the Roman period. All specimens display a mixture of elements borrowed from various helmet types. The sample consists of three groups of helmets: (1) the outmoded ones that have been reworked in Roman armories after the emergence of newer helmet types, (2) those which were modified according to the wishes of non-Roman auxiliary soldiers, and (3) a ‘barbaric’ specimen, which imitates Roman helmets, with elements of Roman manufacture incorporated into it. Going far beyond all well-known typologies, the sample under study provides better understanding of reciprocal contacts in armament technologies both in Barbaricum and elsewhere and enables newer insights on migrations, spatial distribution of imports, etc.