Helmets

Keep Your Head

A Roman helmet had a straightforward job: keep sharp, heavy, fast-moving objects away from the soldier’s head. The bowl protected the skull, cheek pieces guarded the face, and the projecting neck guard covered one particularly inconvenient place to be struck.

But protection had to be balanced against practicality. A soldier still needed to see, hear, breathe, and turn his head while marching and fighting, so Roman helmets left much of the face open rather than enclosing the wearer like a medieval one. And they needed constant upkeep: the leather straps and suspension, the brass fittings, and especially the rust-prone iron.

The crested Roman soldier makes a great movie poster. The fellow outside his tent with the helmet in his lap, replacing a worn strap? That’s Roman military life too.