Imperial helmet

Even as the professional Imperial army emerged, and short-term service citizen soldiers became rare, useful equipment was never discarded.

This helmet dates to the same period as the Imperial Gallic H, and is essentially the same design, but is made in the cupric alloy "orichalcum" (brass) instead of iron.

A second very similar cheek piece has been found, as well as a complete helmet (Imperial Italic E) which appears to have had the same style decoration, though most had been stripped off when it was discarded.

This helmet is often depicted in modern artwork as a centurion's headpiece, but the surviving fore and aft crest attachment hooks suggest it belonged to a regular soldier.

More likely, the Italic D was the product of a single workshop producing a more decorative type for soldiers who might wish to shell out a bit more for splashy headgear.

The original example of this distinct type was found in a cave near Hebron, West Bank, Palestinian territories, and as it was probably war-loot of the Jewish Zealots of the Bar Kochba Revolt under Hadrian, can be closely dated.

Made of bronze (an iron version reportedly resides in a private collection), the helmet is heavily decorated and has a neck guard which is far deeper than usual.