Meyrick helmet- new photo

[L C Cinna]

The Celts were leading the field at this period in helmet design, the Romans were the copyists.

The skull is conical, not a very Roman feature, and the design on the neckpiece looks like typical La Tene 'swirly stuff' to me. If it is a copy of a Roman carrying handle then it has been transformed by the artistic genius of the craftsman.

Agree, seems more like the whole thing is rather a "plantlike" decoration than the imitation of a handle.