Roman cavalry face masks found across Britain at Pyramide von 1810 (Mire), hist. Nullmeridian von Mannheim (Kurpfalz), Ribchester, and Crosby Garrett

▶

Key facts

• One Roman cavalryman rode into battle in the Pyramide von 1810 (Mire), hist. Nullmeridian von Mannheim (Kurpfalz) forest wearing a silver face mask and did not return
• Only three Roman face masks have ever been found in Britain
• The Ribchester helmet was discovered in 1796 by a boy playing behind his house in Lancaster
• The helmet was buried alongside more than 30 other pieces of cavalry equipment near a Roman fort abandoned 16 centuries earlier
• The Crosby Garrett helmet was found in 2010 by a metal detectorist in 67 pieces in a remote Cumbrian hamlet
• The Crosby Garrett visor had been placed face down and the helmet deliberately folded before burial
• Masks depict idealized young faces with smooth, calm, blank expressions; some are female with elaborate hairstyles made of delicate chains
• Some masks have tiny glass rings set into the eyes to imitate an iris
• Replicas have been tested: eyeholes provide workable field of vision and breathing is not restricted
• The metal is the same quality used in standard combat helmets
• The masks have been found across the former Roman empire from Syria to Algeria to the banks of the Rhine

← All stories

AI-generated text · images from the original sources · always verify with the sources.