The mingling of the helms

[Robert Vermaat]

It would depend entirely on how the system of introducing new equipment worked. Do we even have an idea about that? I can imagine one (elite?) regiment beginning to replace their equipment with new style armour, possibly due to a prolonged influence by foreign units before returning home.

Otherwise, perhaps the decision was made to introduce the new style in the fabricae production line, after which every replacemnet would be a new style one.

It is impossible to determine an exact date when the change may have taken place. Most Niederbieber finds we have from the German Limes come from destruction layers of the 260s AD. There are two possible Niederbieber fragments (ear protectors) from slightly later contexts (Gelduba 276, Regensburg 282). The earliest dating context for an Intercisa is possibly the helmet found in the excavation of Augusta Raurica in 1967. It was found in a level with samian ware dated to between 200 AD and the first half of the 3rd century. It was only assigned a later date by the excavator on stylistic grounds.

Is that a hard dating Jens? Or could the helmet have been dug into an older layer? Helmets like these were almost always gilded or silvered and we often find them because they were hidden as items of value.

There are at least two helmets which may represent Niederbieber helmets re-worked into Intercisa helmets (the one from Firenze had the neck area cut away and holes for a leather lining added at some point; the sloped brow area of the Richborough helmet may indicate that it was once a Niederbieber helmet) which indicates that they may have co-existed for some time.

The Richborough is an odd one, that's for sure. The Firenze helmet is not portrayed often enough!

There is also a Niederbieber allegedly from Ratiaria allegedly found with an Intercisa style nose guard. But neither the provenance nor the original association with the nose guard are secure. Finally, the Poitiers helmets from a 270s context, once believed to represent the "missing link" between both types have now convincingly been identified as gladiator helmets.

Do you mean a Berkasovo nose guard/nasal?

I agree, there is no reason to assume that the new style helmets were widely introduced within a fairly short time. I agree with the opinion that their use coincides with the need to rebuild the Roman army after the disasters of the 3rd century. Time and funding were both short, and the construction method of these helmets could very well reflect that. The use is not evidenced over a very long period: the ridge helmets seem to vanish during the 5th century, in favour of spangenhelm-styles I think. Both these and the imperial Gallic types lasted much longer.