Macedonian armour

[Archelaos]

Many of the infantrymen on the Alexander sarcophagus wear blue helmets, and though this colour has been interpreted as blue paint, it's clear from other contemporary Macedonian tomb paintings that blue was used to represent iron or silver. Iron helmets and cuirasses were almost certainly restricted in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC to the commanders and elite units of the army - only a handful of iron helmets have been found from this time period, and only 4 Hellenistic iron cuirasses are known: the one from Vergina, the very well-preserved find from Prodromi, and two finds from wealthy contemporary Sarmatian burials in the southern Urals (Prokhorovka and Berdyanskii).

Yes and no. I do not believe that blue colour on the sarcophagus is iron. In both Agios Athanasios and Lyson and Kallikles tombs iron elements are grey. (spearheads of "big" soldiers on façade of AA and nails from which pieces of equipment hang in L&K fresco). In main fresco on AA bluish colour is used for situla, most probably silver, but on the same fresco helmets are shown painted red and purple. This, in my opinion, suggest that helmets (of guard units obviously) were painted, and if they could be painted red or purple, blue is also possible. But there is no reason it can't be silver.

It seems that putting helmets in tombs was unpopular in Macedonia. There are unlooted tombs, like Derveni, where traces of armour (gold attachments) and greaves were found but no signs of helmets.