The Ribchester Helmet to go on display

[Neil]

A Roman helmet is to go on display in Lancashire, more than 200 years after it was unearthed in the county.

The Ribchester Helmet was discovered in the Ribble Valley in 1796 and has been on display at the British Museum in London since 1814.

Ribchester was the site of a Roman fort called Bremetennacum, and the helmet would have been worn in cavalry sporting events.

Helmet worn by élite trooper in the colourful cavalry sports events

In 1796 a clogmaker's son, playing behind his father's house in Ribchester, Lancashire, discovered a mass of corroded metalwork. This proved to be a hoard of Roman military equipment, mainly cavalry sports equipment and military awards.

Cavalry sports (hippika gymnasia) were flamboyant displays of military horsemanship and weapons drill. They served both as training sessions and to entertain the troopers. The most colourful events were mock battles among the élite riders of the unit, often in the guise of Greeks and Amazons. Both men and horses wore elaborate suites of equipment on these occasions. The helmet, decorated with a scene of a skirmish between infantry and cavalry, is the most spectacular piece. When used, the head-piece and face mask of embossed bronze would be held together by a leather strap. A crest-box and a pair of trailing streamers or 'manes' would have been attached to the head-piece.


The helmet will be on show at the Ribchester Roman Museum until November.