Helmet is coming home after Roman restoration
THIS amazing 2,000-year-old Roman helmet unearthed in Hallaton ten years ago is coming home after an incredible restoration project at the British Museum.
When archaeologists unearthed it in 2001, at the spot where hundreds of Roman and Iron Age coins had been found the year before, they initially joked they had found a rusty bucket.
But the discovery turned out to be one of the most significant Roman finds ever made in this country.
Lifted out of the field in a mud block and pieced together from hundreds of fragments like the world’s most expensive and delicate 3D jigsaw puzzle, the helmet was unveiled at the British Museum on Tuesday.
It is the only Roman helmet found in Britain with the majority of the silver-gilt plating surviving, and one of only a handful ever discovered.
It is also one of Britain’s earliest Roman helmets.
It was unveiled along with two of the seven ornate cheek pieces found at the site.
Among those at the launch event were Cllr David Sprason from Leicestershire County Council, which secured the find for display, and representatives from The Heritage Lottery Fund - which supplied a £650,000 grant to help fund the project.
Staff from the British Museum, including conservator Marilyn Hockey, hosted.
Also at the event was Zara Matthews, curator of Harborough Museum, who told the Mail: “It’s incredible. When I first saw it Marilyn said ‘don’t worry, it will look like a helmet as long as it doesn’t disintegrate!’.
“One of the scariest things was to see it layed out in the conservation lab here at the British Museum. It covered the whole of the laboratory in lots of tiny boxes. I thought ‘how on earth is that going to become a helmet?’ but it has and it’s just amazing.”
Cllr Sprason said: “I was invited here last year and they had started restoring it. But in my wildest dreams I never thought it would turn out how it has.
“I think it’s a fantastic find, not just for Harborough but for the whole of Leicestershire. We should be really proud.”
A three-year labour of love
PIECING together the Hallaton Helmet was a three-year labour of love for conservators at the British Museum.
It was spotted following the discovery by the Hallaton Fieldwork Group of thousands of Roman and Iron Age coins in a field near the village in 2000.
Realising the significance of the find, the group stopped digging and called in the experts, including archaeologists from the British Museum and the University of Leicester.
A silver ear sticking out of the clay was the first sign of the treasured helmet which lay beneath.
Lifted out of the ground in a solid block, it was taken to Marilyn Hockey, head of ceramics, glass and metals conservation at the British Museum.
Initial excavations revealed the helmet had been buried with several hundred coins, the remains of a feast of a suckling pig and five extra cheek pieces.
The real work began once Leicestershire County Council had raised the cash to secure the hoard and fund the restoration.
Marilyn and two colleagues carried out the painstaking work of carefully removing individual fragments from the block.
Each fragile piece of the helmet was then catalogued before being carefully pieced back together.
The job, likened by the experts to a 3D jigsaw puzzle, revealed the helmet was made of sheet iron, with beautifully crafted silver sheet decorated in places with gold leaf.
Marilyn said: “Along the way we discovered an awful lot - it’s a fascinating object. To get something out of the soil like this - it’s like gold.
“One of the amazing things about it is the decoration on the front. In silver gilt it must have looked absolutely stunning originally.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing it on disply at Harborough Museum.”
Experts were left baffled by discovery
THE INTRIGUING mystery of how the helmet came to be buried in a field near Hallaton is one which has baffled experts since its discovery.
Historians beileve the site on which it was found dates between 100BC and 50AD and may have been a hilltop shrine created by the Iron Age Corieltavi tribe, who lived in the area at the time of the Roman conquest in 43AD.
Thousands of coins, an amazing silver bowl, pig bones and the remains of a dog buried to ‘guard’ the treasure all point toward the hoard being part of an ancient ritual.
But how such a high-status Roman helmet came into the possession of a local tribe remains a mystery.
Helen Sharp, project manager of the Hallaton Treasure, said the find was evidence that people living in this area had some sort of relationship with the Romans, if you look at is a diplomatic gift.
But it could also have been a spoil of war, taken during a raid on a Roman camp or in battle, said Helen.
What is known is that the helmet was of the highest quality and would have been specially commissioned by a high- ranking officer.
The striking decoration on the front depicts a wreath - a symbol of military victory - as well as a bust of a woman flanked by lions and other animals.
Its cheekpieces depict a Roman emperor on horseback, trampling a barbarian.
“But there is still so much more we can learn about it,” added Helen.
“It was made from iron and the silver sheet was then stuck on with a tar-like substance. Further analysis of that substance could tell us where it was made.
“The female on the front has her hair in two plaits. Just like today, Romans had hairstyles which came and went, so that might tell us who she was. It’s still very early in terms of what we can learn from this helmet.”
Exhibit set to go on display this month
THE HELMET is coming back to Harborough Museum on permanent display later this month.
The new exhibition will open on Saturday, January 28, when there will be Roman re-enactors on horseback in the town.
The helmet will be housed in a display case alongside an illustration by artist Bob Whale of what the complete helmet might have looked like originally.
In addition to the permanent helmet display, a temporary exhibition telling the story of how it was discovered and the project to restore and conserve it will also go on show.
Museum curator Zara Matthews said: “It’s amazing because it’s an internationally significant find. There aren’t many Roman helmets found in Britain so to have this spectacular one - albeit corroded after 2,000 years in the ground - is exceptional.
“The fact it’s coming back on display in Harborough is fantastic.”
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