This 2,000 -year -old Roman helmet used to look like a ‘rusty cube’. Now he restores his old glory

At the beginning of the 2000s, amateur archaeologists in the United Kingdom unearthed a large and extremely oxidized metal object somewhere in Leinsaleshire. It certainly didn’t seem much. However, this would be one of the most important archaeological findings made in this century in Britain.

The artifact, still locked in the soil block in which it was found, was examined by experts from the British Museum, who with their trained eyes discovered that it was an old Roman helmet.

This was not an ordinary standard. While the conservatives thoroughly took off the many layers of oxide and soil, they realized that this was a Roman cavalry helmet (model) of extraordinary crafts, recorded with intricate decorations made of gold and silver.

After two decades of thorough restoration, the artifact, now known as the Hallaton helmetIt has been restored to a wonderful condition. Initially he described jokingly as a “rusty cube”, the Roman helmet has now recovered an appearance of its ancient glory. It will be exhibited in the United Kingdom, offering the public a rare vision of Roman history and crafts.

Restoring the past

The helmet was discovered along with thousands of iron coins and Roman coins and pork bones within what is believed to be a sanctuary of around 43 d. official.

This decoration shows a crown that symbolizes military victory and a scorpion in the form of a viever that shows the bust of a woman surrounded by animals. The cheeks portray a Roman Emperor who rides a horse with the goddess Victoria flying behind him, and under the horse’s helmets there is a shrugged figure, possibly a native British.

The cumbersome restoration process involved scanning the fragments to facilitate careful reconstruction. Each fragment, from the bowl of the helmet to the seven pills, was thoroughly rebuilt by the conservatives. They managed to restore the 80% helmet of their original structure.

According to this restoration, experts began working in a replica. Rajesh Gogna, a silversmith and professor at the University of Montfort, assumed the challenge of recreating the helmet using 21st century methods. Armed with 3D scanning of the original fragments, Gogna and his team created a digital helmet model. Then they used this model to produce a resin replica, which was electroformed, silver and gold to imitate the appearance of the original.

Francesco Galluccio, an Italian and recognized archaeologist, recognized manufacturer of replicas, who chose a more traditional approach. Using techniques that would have been familiar to Roman artisans, Galluccio forged an iron nucleus for the helmet and the slaughtered brass leaves to create the decorative outer layer. His interpretation of the motifs of the helmet, although slightly different from those of Gogna, was based on extensive and parallel investigations of Roman art.

The cavalry helmet was not alone. Among the artifacts, archaeologists recovered a treasure of more than 5,000 iron currencies and Roman coins, silver bowls and hundreds of animals of animals linked to ceremonial parties, now known as the Hallaton treasure. The intricate designs of the helmet, which have a female figure flanked by lions, taps that support an amphora and a laurel crown, recreated with a computer -attended design (CAD). However, Gogna also incorporated artisanal elements, such as rivets and brass pins, to stay faithful to the construction of the original.

Echoes of the Roman Britain

The history of the exquisite Roman helmet is still wrapped in mystery. Perhaps the high -state man who served in the Roman cavalry buried him in his local sanctuary as a gift for the gods after returning home of a successful military campaign. Or maybe it was a diplomatic gift for a local support population.

Others suggest that the helmet is a spot of war, captured in battle. That is not a crazy conclusion since the Roman Empire was still in its early stages to conquer Great Britain when the helmet was buried. In 43 AD, the Roman emperor Claudio launched an invasion of Great Britain, facing strong resistance from local tribes. During the next 45 years, the Roman army gradually extended its control over much of England and current Wales and ventured in territory now in Scotland, where the wall of Hadrian, and later the Antonino wall, would mark the border more to the North of the Empire.

The Romans would govern these lands for almost three centuries before Great Britain was abandoned by an empire collapsed to the edge of disintegration.

The restored helmet is now shown in the Harborough Museum In Leicester, located about 100 miles northwest London. The two replicas are now shown along with the original fragments in the same museum. The replica project was possible thanks to the financing of several beneficial organizations and local groups, as well as the District Council.