tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post6133013073266287968..comments2023-11-29T07:39:34.401+00:00Comments on Carla Nayland Historical Fiction: The Crosby Garrett HelmetCarlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-35678798478509892182014-01-29T19:35:29.046+00:002014-01-29T19:35:29.046+00:00Gabriele - That's interesting! My mental image...Gabriele - That's interesting! My mental image of Roman army gear tends to be rather stern and functional. Clearly mistaken! - or at least, not the whole story.<br /><br />Constance - Glad you found it interesting! Yes, it does beg for a story, doesn't it? Feel free to oblige :-) Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-2505643053680964282014-01-29T00:50:28.036+00:002014-01-29T00:50:28.036+00:00Love the analysis. I learned a lot.
It begs for a ...Love the analysis. I learned a lot.<br />It begs for a story! Constance Brewerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964121072645959593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-20575101638569374202014-01-27T19:01:12.200+00:002014-01-27T19:01:12.200+00:00Rick, a number of Roman parade helmets looked like...Rick, a number of Roman parade helmets looked like they came out of some 19th century opera fundus, like <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4ou7O2v_Jk/TTOckqokiUI/AAAAAAAADTk/AUrb2gzWHYM/s1600/helmet7a.JPG" rel="nofollow">this one</a>. :-)Gabriele Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205770868139083575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-23768414450561565552014-01-23T14:54:31.571+00:002014-01-23T14:54:31.571+00:00Stephen Holden - Hello and welcome! If the fragme...Stephen Holden - Hello and welcome! If the fragments found in the trench by the later archaeological dig turn out to be more fragments of the helmet, that would also support the find spot as genuine. Likewise the presence of the earthworks and the 'cairn-like' stone structure, as you mention. Certainly the archaeologists interviewed for the CA article seemed quite content to accept it as a genuine find. Glad you liked the post!<br /> Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-88445128641646159232014-01-23T07:03:58.593+00:002014-01-23T07:03:58.593+00:00Well , originally some Archeological friends of mi...Well , originally some Archeological friends of mine came to the rather quick conclusion that this was probably a smuggled find (from perhaps a burial in Naples or Turkey) , what with it being in pieces and it being quickly spirited away for restoration before anyone could have a good look , however the fact that these enclosures was unknown to the finder then it really is probably a genuine find , well done Carla very good write up on it .Stephen HoldenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-74980779980626799942014-01-22T19:58:11.593+00:002014-01-22T19:58:11.593+00:00It certainly does look very different from the Rom...It certainly does look very different from the Roman helmets I've seen in films, on book covers etc. I know very little about Roman helmets, so I am guessing that those might be Roman infantry combat helmets from the early-empire legions. A sports helmet for impressive military displays would have a very different job to do, so I suppose it makes sense that it would/could look quite different. <br /><br />You're not the only one to think it doesn't look very 'Roman'; apparently the finder initially thought it was Victorian (and the Roman eagle recently found in London was at first thought to be a Victorian garden ornament). Given that the Renaissance consciously revived some classical art forms, I wonder if it copied objects that shared the same influences as the helmet, and you might be picking up on that?<br /><br />I'm not sure what the official Roman attitude would have been to a private fortified settlement. On the one hand it was a military zone; on the other, a case could be made that fortifications were needed for defence against raiders, especially by the fourth century when Roman defence was getting rather flaky. Crosby Garrett is only about 12-15 miles south of Hadrian's Wall - not quite on the front line if a raiding party got through, but not a very long way. And even if private fortifications were against the rules, enforcement is another matter. Regardless, someone with some connection with the authorities would no doubt get away with more than most. Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-39270966097452694512014-01-20T18:47:23.145+00:002014-01-20T18:47:23.145+00:00If I had only the image to go by I might have gues...If I had only the image to go by I might have guessed that the helmet dated to the Renaissance - simply because of its (to me) rather whimsical appearance. Certainly it looks not at all like my stereotype of a Roman helmet.<br /><br />(Which just shows what I don't know about Roman helmets!)<br /><br />And I agree that <i>transition from Roman administration to small post-Roman kingdoms</i> might often have been ambiguous. The authorities might look with skepticism on a privately built fortified gate - unless the builder had ties to the authorities, or even a claim to represent the authorities.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16932015378213238346noreply@blogger.com