The bronze helmet survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and was worn by a heavily armoured gladiator called a 'murmillo'
Posted on 03/15/2015 1:25:12 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A gladiator's helmet left behind in the ruins of Pompeii is the centrepiece of an exhibition to be unveiled in Melbourne today.
The 2,000-year-old bronze helmet is one of 250 items brought together at the Melbourne Museum to illustrate life in the ancient city.
Museum manager Brett Dunlop says the helmet survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and was recovered 200 years ago.
'A large number of gladiators' helmets and shin guards and shoulder guards were found in what was most likely a storeroom in the gymnasium area,' he said.
'Most definitely the gladiators who were able to would have fled away when the volcano was erupting and a large number of pieces of their equipment were left behind.'
The helmet would have been worn by 'murmillo', a type of gladiator during the Roman Imperial age.
The distinguishing feature of the murmillo was the high crest of his helmet which, together with its broad rim, was shaped somewhat like a fish.
The murmillo took his name from this fish-shaped helmet; the word comes from the Greek word for a type of saltwater fish.
Otherwise, he wore a loincloth, belt, short greaves on the lower parts of his legs, a linen arm protector to protect his right arm, and the curved rectangular shield of the Roman legionary.
He also carried the legionary's short, straight sword, or gladius, from which gladiators derived their name.
The murmillo usually fought gladiators styled after ancient Greek fighters, with whom he shared some of the same equipment (notably arm guards and greaves)...
Examples of the pairing between murmillones and other gladiator types can be seen in frescos and graffiti in Pompeii.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
The bronze helmet survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and was worn by a heavily armoured gladiator called a 'murmillo'
Thanks NYer. Checked, this 2009 story doesn't seem to have been posted.
I’ll never forgive Russel Crowe for subverting the honor of that cutie pie Meg Ryan. I’m glad the Emperor had him done in.
Amazing find. I had not seen this article before
Darling, wake up! Please, wake up!
Oh man, that’s beautiful!
I’m Spartacus!
Does the metal “plume” on the top of the helmet have a functional purpose? I would think that thing would be heavy as it is without adding metal decoration.
That’s a bit more than a “linen arm protector” on his right arm, I’d say.
I think it’s supposed to mimic the crests that were used on Assyrian, Urartian, Persian, and eventually Greek and Roman helmets.
Perfectly preserved!
That is an awesome artifact. Looks to be very heavy though.
There’s a lot of myths about gladiators. For one thing, most fights were not to the death, but to first blood. Gladiators were expensive investments, and their owners couldn’t afford to lose half of them in every fight. Death matches were generally only the last fight of the day, kind of the main event. Even then, if both fought well, they were often spared. And if they did survive, winning gladiators were usually freed after 3 years.
Finally, thumbs down didn’t mean death. It meant weapons down, let him live. Death was signified by a finger across the throat. Thank Cecil B. DeMille for that particular myth.
SOME helmet crests and/or points do serve a purpose. The most common being to deflect blows from above. Usually this can be accomplished by simply rotating the head. The danger of this tactic is that the blow can often slide down to the shoulder with enough force to damage.
The crusader flat top helm (called a pot helm) has a flat top and does not deflect blows. It was not that effective against hammer based weapons.
Linen doesn’t sound so impressive with people swinging swords at you does it? Could I at least upgrade to leather?
So THAT’S where I left it.
The thumbs up or down thing is more dramatic
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