Helmet

This splendid cavalry-helmet was found in 1910, by people cutting peat in the Peel in the vicinity of the town of Deurne. Other finds were a leather money pouch, 38 bronze coins, a bronze mantle pin, three shoes, a spur, parts of a dagger’s sheath, two little horse bells, and remnants of fabrics and leather. Initially, it seemed that man and horse had drowned in the bog. Nowadays it is assumed, rather, that the helmet was given a ritual burial after its owner had completed his military service. Because the coins were minted between 315 and 319 A.D., the event may be exactly dated in the year 319 or shortly after.
An inscription shows that the helmet was made by Marcus Titus Lunamis, using nearly 370 grammes of silver sheets. Its owner belonged to the sixth cavalry unit of the Equites Stablesiani. On the right side of the helmet cap it says ‘Stablesia VI’. The right cheek flap was missing and was added again in modern times by a goldsmith.
Originally, the helmet consisted of an iron cap, lined with leather, covered with paper-thin sheets of gilded silver, affixed with silver tacks. All plates are decorated along the edges with pearl borders.Where these make an angle, a little circle has been added. Between the pearl borders there is a row of four-petalled flowers. The central surfaces are decorated with simple figures, created with the aid of a pointed tool.