Roman cavalry face masks found at Newstead, Ribchester and Crosby Garrett

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Key facts

• Only three Roman cavalry face-mask helmets are known from Britain, from Newstead in Scotland, Ribchester in Lancashire and Crosby Garrett in Cumbria.
• The video argues that a Roman cavalryman wearing a silver face mask entered battle in the Teutoburg Forest and did not return; this is the video's theory, not an established archaeological fact.
• The Ribchester helmet was discovered in 1796 by the son of a local clogmaker while playing behind his family's home in Ribchester, Lancashire—not Lancaster.
• It was buried with more than 30 other pieces of cavalry equipment near the Roman fort at Ribchester.
• The Crosby Garrett helmet was found in 2010 by metal detectorist Dave Capstick in 67 fragments near Crosby Garrett, Cumbria.
• The Crosby Garrett helmet was deliberately folded and buried face down.
• The masks portray idealised, youthful, impassive faces; some represent female faces with elaborate hairstyles.
• Some masks had small inlaid eyes intended to imitate an iris.
• Replica testing found that the eyeholes provided a workable field of vision and did not restrict breathing.
• The masks were made from high-quality copper alloy, sometimes with surface silvering, comparable to the metal used in Roman combat helmets; they were not solid-silver masks.
• Related examples have been found across the Roman empire, including Syria, Algeria and the Rhine.

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