Roman Helmets

Hilary & John Travis

Dec 2014 · Amberley Publishing Limited

About this ebook

The Roman military is an iconic, ancient institution; everybody is familiar with the image of fearsome Roman soldiers marching in their famous columns. In this book, Roman military experts Hilary and John Travis turn their attention to the helmets used by the historic Roman stalwarts, drawing on their expertise, their wealth of illustrated material and the world of re-enactments. There are currently two different methods in use in the identification of Roman helmet types: the British system, based on developmental progression and features indicating the geographical area of manufacture; and the much simplified Continental system, based on named find locations. In this study of helmets used by the Romans, Roman Helmets draws together the streams of published information of sculptural imagery and archaeological ‘hard’ evidence, while also comparing these dual typologies, discussing their strengths and weaknesses.

About the author

Hilary Travis holds a Masters and Honours Degrees in Archaeology. In addition to over 20 years experience as an archaeologist, she also has over 20 years combat experience in Japanese martial arts, and over 10 years in reconstruction of Roman and medieval period artefacts. John Travis is an established author, his first book, Coal in Roman Britain, was based on his PhD thesis. He holds a Masters Degree and Doctorate in Roman Archaeology from the University of Liverpool. He is an archaeologist with over 30 years experience, and an Associate member of the Institute of Field Archaeologists (AIFA). Both Hilary and John are active re-enactors, as members of both the Chester Guard (Deva VV) Roman Society and the Thomas Stanley Retinue (Wars of the Roses Medieval group).