01-07-2009, 10:32 PM
Quote:Please excuse me joining the thread at such a late stage.
All good points for discussion and all relevant (whether you come into the thread now or at the beginning! ).
However:
- (1) can we get accurate dates for these things (and by accurate I don't mean precise historical dates, such as AD 79 - I mean time periods of a few decades when the helmet was in use, remember a burial date isn't necessarily when the thing was made - in fact would probably not be so),
(2) furthermore, can we get dates in all cases - because any classification has to work all the time, not just some of the time,
(3) is the date unique for a particular style - as I've said before, these helmets were not used in sequence but frequently together, i.e. they overlapped in use - if this is so then a date as a method of categorising them will not be of use and in fact may be confusing?
Where a date for deposition/use is known, this is interesting information and could well be useful under the conditions of use you mentioned but I doubt its relevance as a tool for grouping these various helmets together.
Caratacus
(Mike Thomas)
visne scire quod credam? credo orbes volantes exstare.