Help me build around the Italic A

[Hasdrubal]

I've recently purchased a helmet because I fell in love with it, and was told it could be used during the Caesars/Augustus Era. Now I want to know from the purist if I can get away with this and I'm going to post pictures or mention what I would like for my Roman Re-enactment set. I also know this could be a cavalry helmet but I'm going to go with foot, because "possibilities"

Here's the Helmet I'm building the set from.

[attachment=12739]ItalicA.jpeg[/attachment]

I was thinking about this Subarmalis with pterges

[attachment=12741]22148_265967634667_6843613_n_2015-09-03.jpg[/attachment]

Coupled with Lorica Hamata, still looking at belts, and wondering if I should go with an Augustan design Scutum or the republican Scutum? I don't think the rectangle scutums were out just yet. Any suggestions would be awesome and very welcomed. I don't mind spending some serious cash for the proper set up.

[tiberius aemilius naso]

Hi, Aaron! You can find really knowledgeable people on this period in the forum, but i'll try to contribute with my grain of salt.
First of all, i completely love the helmet. I've thought on buying it myself (while it is not the period i am working on -Second Punic War-). The helmet is dated, broadly, to the 1st half of the 1st C AD, so i think that, while being suitable for an Augustan impression, it is not for a Caesarean one.

About the scutum... checking Bishop & Coulston... "a relief on the mausoleum of Munatius Plancus at Gaeta shows that the curved rectangular shield was already in use by c. 10 BC". Some pictures here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/roger_ulri...otostream/

It's been discussed if the shields represented in this mausoleum are really of the oval-Republican or rectangular-Principate style (or everything is a question of perspective in the representations) (old discussion on RAT: http://www.romanarmytalk.com/17-roman-mi...l?start=15 ). But it seems both styles are represented in this reliefs. So i'd say you could choose any of the styles, with a suitable umbo for the Republican one.

And i think the subarmalis is perfect. Either way, we don't really know how they looked!

[Hasdrubal]

Tiberius, I'm completely fine with the Augustan time period. I either wanted to do that or Caesar, because those are my favorite of Roman era's 60BC-17AD.

Thank you for your answers. especially on the shields. Where the mannheim helmets still in use at this time? I have a group of people who are interested in eventually starting up a Legio or maybe join an existing one during that time period. I'm thinking of buying these Manheim helmets as well.

[CAELIUS]

Hello,
I think that this type of helmet is ideal to form a guard. I think of the Praetorian Guard, at the beginning of the Empire. Remember that this helmet was found in the Bay of Naples (far from the combat zones). There were many imperial residences in this region. I think this model is changing after to give the beautiful Attic helmets Praetorian. To me, they are not an invention.

[tiberius aemilius naso]

Where the mannheim helmets still in use at this time?

It seems so. Mannheim style helmets (or Coolus Mannheim) seemed to be in use for a long time, from the 3rd c BC up to the 1st C AD.

[CAELIUS]

The helmet Mannheim is rather a model of the second and first century BC. For some it is an Italic helmet, for others it is a Celtic helmet. We know that it was brought by Gallic auxiliaries of the Roman army. We see this helmet on ancient images of the late Republic and early Empire. Unfortunately, these images are still very crude. For some, the helmets of Caesar's soldiers is a Buggenum model.