Description
This study investigates the development, manufacture, decoration and use of the Roman infantry helmet, a vital piece of personal protection equipment of both legionary and auxiliary troops.
The protective headgear worn by Roman foot soldiers of the Republican period was adopted directly from the Etruscans, who had in turn adapted helmets from neighbouring European cultures within and beyond the Italian peninsula. In this study, a renowned authority explains how its form remained largely unchanged until the Late Republic, when contact and conflict with a wider variety of cultures introduced new influences.
The dynamic forces at work during civil wars and transition from the Republic to the Principate at the end of the 1st century BC saw a whole range of types introduced which then evolved until new influences prompted further changes. M.C. Bishop shows how this culminated in contact with Eastern cultures leading to completely new types being introduced, which simplified manufacture and led to a variety of post-Roman helmet types.14.99
