The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History - Karatunov.net

C u lt u re o f t h e R o m a n A r m y 157
Cavalry helmet, Roman Britain,
third century. It can be difficult to
determine whether a helmet was
intended for full combat use or for
parades and cavalry sports events.
This helmet, originally fitted with
a pair of protective cheek pieces,
may have served both roles.
(The British Museum /Topham-
HIP/The Image Works)
provi n ce s , d a ting to different peri od s , and gl ad i a tors were familiar with them
(Goldsworthy, 2003a).
Senior officers wore a more elaborate type of cuirass, usually molded to enh
a n ce the mu s cl ed appe a ra n ce of the we a rer, with fri n ged leather stri p s
(pteryiges or pteruges) at the waist and the shoulders. The relief sculptures of the
Ahenobarbus monument and Trajan’s Column show officers in this type of armor,
which was also worn by the emperors. Apart from the sculptures, there is
little other evi den ce for the mu s cl ed cuira s s , wh i ch may have been made of
m et a l , or perhaps of l e a t h er, or po s s i bly both (Con n o lly, 1 9 9 8 ; G o l d s wort hy,
2003a).
The several de s i gns of Roman military hel m ets have been well doc u m en ted ,
but an attem pt to produ ce a stri ct ch ron o l ogy to illu s tra te their evo luti on is alw
ays probl em a ti c . The links have not nece s s a ri ly been fo u n d , and it may be a
m i s t a ke to assume that there was a linear devel opm ent covering the whole Emp
i re . A whole ra n ge of m odern term i n o l ogy has been inven ted to illu s tra te type s ,
but none of the labels would be meaningful to the men who wore the hel m et s .
In simplistic term s , h el m ets devel oped to provi de pro tecti on from bl ows ,
downward via the forehead, across the back of the neck, to the cheeks, and primarily
to the top of the head. Early Roman helmets were little more than an in-