Metal detecting enthusiast unearths bronze Roman mask in Cumbria

Blackleaf

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Oct 9, 2004
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A metal detecting enthusiast scouring a field in Cumbria in the far north of England came across something he was probably never expecting to find - a bronze Roman face mask.

The beautiful artefact, dating back to the 1st to 2nd century AD, was found in May and would probably have been worn with colourful streamers attached as a mark of excellence by Roman soldiers at cavalry sport parades.

At the time it was made and worn, what is now Cumbria would have been the most northerly point of the entire Roman Empire.

Now known as the Crosby Garrett Helmet, after the little village where it was found, it is one of just three Roman helmets to be found in Britain and is expected to fetch £300,000 at Christie's Antiquities auction in London.

In 1939, an Anglo-Saxon ceremonial helmet was unearthed at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. Dating back to the 7th Century, it was worn ceremonially by Rædwald, the king of the kingdom of East Anglia.

Who was the man behind this amazing Roman mask? Helmet unearthed by metal detector expected to fetch £300,000

By Daily Mail Reporter
14th September 2010
Daily Mail

A Roman bronze helmet complete with face-mask - thought to be one of only three of its kind to be found in Britain - has been discovered by a metal detector enthusiast in Cumbria.

The helmet, with its enigmatic and virtually intact features, would have been worn, possibly with colourful streamers attached to the object, as a mark of excellence by Roman soldiers at cavalry sport parades.

Described as a 'hugely important discovery', it is now expected to fetch £300,000 at Christie's Antiquities auction in London.


A 'hugely important discovery': The Roman bronze helmet complete with face-mask was found at Crosby Garrett in Cumbria by a metal-detectorist

The Crosby Garrett Helmet - which dates from the 1st-2nd century AD - has been named after the hamlet in Cumbria where it was found in a field in May by the treasure hunter, who wants to remain anonymous.

The helmet has a never-seen-before griffin crest, which, with the object's hair, would have been a golden bronze colour, contrasting with the polished white-metal surface of the face mask.

Christie's described the find as an 'extraordinary example of Roman metalwork at its zenith'.

The auction house's London head of antiquities, Georgiana Aitken, said: 'This helmet is the discovery of a lifetime for a metal detectorist.

'When it was initially brought to Christie's and I examined it at first-hand, I saw this extraordinary face from the past staring back at me and I could scarcely believe my eyes.


Enigmatic: The helmet would have been worn as a mark of excellence by Roman soldiers at cavalry parades


Under the hammer: Georgiana Aitken, the Head of Antiquities at Christie's London, with the helmet

'This is a hugely important discovery and we expect considerable interest at both the public preview and at the auction where it is sure to generate great excitement from museums and collectors alike.'

Arrian of Nicomedia, a Roman provincial governor under Hadrian (the emperor who built the famous wall across what is now northern England), suggested, in an appendix to his military series Ars Tactica, that Romans wore the helmets as a mark of rank or excellence in horsemanship.

The Roman cavalrymen were divided into two teams that took turns to attack and defend during the events, which accompanied religious festivals and were also put on for the benefit of visiting officials.


Rare: It is one of only three Roman helmets discovered in Britain since records began 250 years ago

Enlarge

The mask is thought to have been worn with an elaborately painted shield, embroidered tunic, thigh-guards and greaves.

The helmet is one of only three of its kind discovered in Britain since records began 250 years ago.

The only other two helmets that have been discovered complete with face-masks are the Ribchester Helmet, found in 1796 and now in the British Museum, and the Newstead Helmet, found some time around 1905 and now at the Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh.

The helmet will go on sale in the Antiquities auction at Christie's South Kensington on October 7.

dailymail.co.uk
 
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Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
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The rotund facial features and elaborate hair style would indicate that the person who it is modeled after would have been a high ranking bureaucrat, gentry or politician, not a soldier. The story just doesn't make sense, unless he was an officer who saw no active fighting for many years.
 

coldstream

on dbl secret probation
Oct 19, 2005
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Georgianna is kind of cute for matron of antiquities.. ;-)

The winged griffin is normally a symbol of a female. Male griffins having spikes on their back. To me the image looks like a woman. In either case the griffin is symbol of heroic character.. likely of nobility.
 

Josephia

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Nov 18, 2010
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The style of the face of the mask is not verism, it is not supposed to look like the person who was wearing it. It is an idealised aspect of heroic beauty from the Greek statue types, which were admired by the Romans in terms of taste. Other Roman masks in silver also show similar facial types. They were worn by the cavalry officers. Notice the Phyrgian cap of the helmet and the griffin, both emblematic of Mithras, a god and religion of the Roman soldiers. The hair style also is that of Mithras. Mithras evoked strength and protection for the soldiers. It looks like there are several loops, including one on the back of the neck of the griffin and one in front of the amphora on the top of the helmet that may have held other symbolic elements or some kind of crest.