Italic D: First or second century?

[FlaviusCrispus]

Avete, amici!

Robinson placed the Italic D helmet, the one with all the fancy temple and eagle brass appliques, in the mid-to-late first century AD. But I just noticed that Antike Helm places it in first quarter of the second century. This makes more sense to me, as it has cross-bracing (albeit of a flat, brass variety) and is similar to the Italic G (Hebron) helmet in some respects. The workmanship and overall appearence also make it seem clear that the same "factory" that produced the Italic D also made the Guttmann variant of the Italic H (or "Neidermormter type") helmet, seen here:

http://www.legionsix.org/neideroblique.jpg

The Italic H is usually placed in the late second / early third century. On that timeline, the Italic D would seem to come just a little before, not a full century or more. So if the Ital D is a first century helmet, the Guttmann piece must be closer in time, say the early-mid second century.

So, is the Italic D a first or second century helmet? Is the find context any help here? Or is Robinson's dating based purely on typology?

[FlaviusCrispus]

OK, Robinsons states, "if AD 83 is considered the latest possible date for losses of equipment in the Rhine at Mainz, the helmet now at Worms must have been lost at some time prior to that date..."

So that's how Robinson dates it to the second half of the first century. Good. Now, question: Why must we accept AD 83 as the "latest possible date" a helmet could have been lost in the Rhine at Mainz?

[Praefectusclassis]

Could it be that that particular helmet is linked to a legion that moved away by that time?

[FlaviusCrispus]

Could it be that that particular helmet is linked to a legion that moved away by that time?

Legio XIIII GMV was stationed at Mainz until AD 92. According to Peterson's RLIFCP, in AD 83 the fourteenth participated in the Chatti War in the surrounding Taurus Mountains, so I guess there's an opportunity for a helmet to be lost in the Rhine, and Peterson theorizes that the eagle motif on the Italic D is related to the "Victrix" title of the fourteenth. But is that the last time any legion crossed the Rhine at Mainz?

The fourteenth was replaced at Mainz after that by Legio XXII Primagenia, where it was still stationed in the reign of Hadrian. Is there any reason the Ital D couldn't belong to someone in that legion?

Is there any name and/or legionary number scratched or dotted on the Mainz helmet?

[Praefectusclassis]

IIRC Legio I Adiutrix left Mainz in the 80s AD for Pannonia, maybe Robinson was thinking of that legion?

[Celer]

Salve Crispus,

There are three decorated C1st Itallic helmets: The D & E from Mainz, and another one from Krefeldt. The E was dated to 100AD at the latest, and even then it was so old it had been stripped of its brass and discarded. As far as I know, the Krefeldt deposits were dated to c. 69AD, so it's looking more like they were mid-to late C1st, though that doesn't mean than similar helmets were not used later. Considering the Itallic H family of helmets, it could be said that there was a continued tradition of decorating helmets of this type surviving to the third century.

Vale,

Celer.

[Tarbicus]

Peterson theorizes that the eagle motif on the Italic D is related to the "Victrix" title of the fourteenth.

There is more than one helmet with the lunar crescent on. Is there any corellation between units they could have come from based on locations? That could support the theory if there was another helmet type with similar circumstances, maybe?

[Celer]

Salve (again),

Robinson's dating of the Itallic D was based purely on his hypothesis that it had been dropped from a ferry, and once the bridge was built in 83AD, no more soldiers fell off barges with all their kit. Since the current trend in archaeology is to believe that most military equipment was deposited for religious reasons, the Itallic D could have been later as well.

Sorry, opened a whole can of worms here.

Celer.

[Praefectusclassis]

There's a cheekpiece of a decorated helmet in the Nijmegen museum as well.

(and Celer, please use your real first name in your signature)

[mcbishop]

Since the current trend in archaeology is to believe that most military equipment was deposited for religious reasons, the Itallic D could have been later as well.

I think there may be an 'in water' missing there; I certainly wouldn't advocate the Corbridge Hoard or the Carlisle Millennium material being deposited for religious reasons ;-)

Mike Bishop

[FlaviusCrispus]

"Oh Dis, god of the underworld, I dedicate this crate full of clapped-out scrap armor to you, and hereby consign it to Mother Earth, so that 1,900 years hence, future generations will be both enlightened and flummoxed by it..."

[Marcus Cassius LegioXIV]

What sizes are Deepeekas Italic D's? I have a Gallic I Deepeeka, it has felt liner, I've pushed the sides in and it still looks big, would the Italic D be any differnent?

[FlaviusCrispus]

The Deepeeka Italic D generally fits a normal to large sized head. In the past, it has a few authenticity problems which have led some reenactors to steer clear of it. However, Deepeeka has made a new beautiful and highly accurate new version of this helmet, as seen here:



The revisions were done with the critical help of the French firm Armae, which markets Deepeeka equipment in Europe. Here is a thread discussing the changes on the Marketplace section:

http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic.php?t=7253

My own new company, Imperial Armory & Imports, will shortly be offering them in the states. I can't wait to get my hands on one!

Now that we have a much more accurate version of this helmet that will shortly be widely available, the question becomes even more critical: Is this a First Century or Second Century helmet? Any further thoughts?

[Gaius Honorius Felix]

Crispus, does your company have a website?

[Praefectusclassis]

Ok, here's the cheekflap currently in the Nijmegen museum. It's originally from the Meuse in Venlo (NL). Sadly it's not from the Nijmegen legionary camp (70AD-ca. 120AD?, Leg X Gem, Leg IX Hisp, Leg XXXUV), which would have made the dating much easier. Instead, it could've been from any of the lower Rhine legions, although major operations in the area were over after 70AD. Still, traffic from Bonn/Cologne to the North sea may well have passed the area.