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The Crosby Garrett Helmet is a copper alloy Roman cavalry helmet dating from the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD. It was found by an unnamed metal detectorist near Crosby Garrett in Cumbria, England, in May 2010. Later investigations found that a Romano-British farming settlement had occupied the site where the helmet was discovered, which was located a few miles away from a Roman road and a Roman army fort. It is possible that the owner of the helmet was a local inhabitant who had served with the Roman cavalry. The helmet appears to have been deliberately folded up and deposited in an artificial stone structure. It is thought to have been used for ceremonial occasions rather than for combat, and may already have been an antique by the time it was buried. It is of the same type as the Newstead Helmet (found in 1905) and its design also has similarities with the Ribchester Helmet (found in 1796) and the Hallaton Helmet (found in 2000), though its facial features are more akin to those of helmets found in southern Europe. Its design may allude to the Trojans, whose exploits the Romans re-enacted in cavalry tournaments. Dr Ralph Jackson, Senior Curator of Romano-British Collections at the British Museum, has described the helmet as "...an immensely interesting and outstandingly important find ... Its face mask is both extremely finely wrought and chillingly striking, but it is as an ensemble that the helmet is so exceptional and, in its specifics, unparalleled. It is a find of the greatest national (and, indeed, international) significance." On 7 October 2010, the helmet was sold at Christie's for £2.3 million (US$3.6 million) to an undisclosed private buyer. Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle sought to purchase the helmet, with the support of the British Museum but was outbid. The helmet has so far been publicly displayed twice, once in a 2012 exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, and again at Tullie House in 2013-14. ==Description== The Crosby Garrett helmet is an almost complete example of a two-piece Roman cavalry helmet. The visor portrays the face of a youthful, clean-shaven male with curly hair. The headpiece is in the shape of a Phrygian cap, on the crest of which is a winged griffin that stands with one raised foot resting on an amphora. The visor was originally attached to the headpiece by means of a hinge; the iron hinge pin has not survived, but its existence has been inferred from the presence of powdery deposits of iron oxide residue. The helmet would have been held in place using a leather strap attached from the wearer's neck to a decorated rivet on either side of the helmet, below the ear. Wear marks caused by opening and closing the visor are still visible, and at some point the helmet was repaired using a bronze sheet which was riveted across two splits. Only two other Roman helmets complete with visors have been found in Britain – the Newstead Helmet and Ribchester Helmet.〔 The helmet and visor were cast from an alloy consisting of an average of 82% copper, 10% zinc and 8% tin. This alloy was probably derived from melted-down scrap brass with a low zinc content, with which some tin had been added to improve the quality of the casting.〔〔 Some of the fragments show traces of a white metal coating, indicating that the visor would originally have been tinned to give the appearance of silver. The griffin was cast separately from a different alloy consisting of 68% copper, 4% zinc, 18% tin and 10% lead. The visor would originally have been a silver hue and the helmet would have had a coppery yellow appearance.〔 The helmet's creation can be dated to the late 2nd or early 3rd century from the use of a particular type of decorated rivet as well as some of its design features, such as its pierced eyes.〔 There has been much debate about the symbolic meaning of the helmet's design. The griffin was the companion of Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance and fate. They were both seen as agents of death and were often linked with gladiatorial combat.〔 The meaning of the face and headpiece are less clearly identifiable. Suggestions have ranged from the Greek god Attis and the hero Perseus, to the Roman gods Mithras and Jupiter Dolichenus, to a more general Eastern Mediterranean appearance that could possibly have been meant to suggest a Trojan identity.〔 The Phrygian cap was often used by the Romans as a visual motif representing the Trojans.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Crosby Garrett Helmet」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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