In a 'ritual space' in South East Leicestershire, in 2000, along with several hoards of silver and gold coins dating from the late 1st century BC to mid 1st century AD.
Date:
2nd/3rd century AD.
Now kept:
Under conservation at the British Museum (2009). It will eventually be displayed at Harborough Museum, Leicestershire.
Cavalry parade helmet in a very delicate state of preservation. The best preserved portion appears to be a cheek piece, bearing a repoussé figure of a mounted figure riding down a barbarian. The rider's right hand is raised in salute. Behind the rider and above is the figure of a winged Victory, holding a laurel wreath.
The cheek piece carries a representation of a human ear at the rear, like many other examples of this group.
The skull of the helmet is iron, covered with a thin layer of silver and with the raised decoration picked out in gold. Recent (2009) restoration work has revealed a lion's head on the helmet's brow and what may be stylised hair on the helmet bowl itself.
The context of this find was clearly an Iron Age shrine, with thousands of coins and pig bones. How a Roman parade helmet of this quality could end up in such a site at such an early date is a puzzle. One possibility is that it was brought to this location by a local man who had served in the Roman auxiliary cavalry. Alternatively, it may have been a diplomatic gift to a 'friendly' local chieftain.
References:
Faulkner, N. (2006), "Suddenly there was a face staring back at me... Excavating a Roman Parade Helmet", Current Archæology, 202, p.543-7
Editor (2009), "Unpicking the secrets of the Hallaton Helmet", Current Archaeology, 233, p.7
