' surrender of
Briseis to
Agamemnon, from the
House of the Tragic Poet in
Pompeii, fresco, 1st century AD, now in the
Naples National Archaeological Museum; soldiers in the background can be seen wearing the Montefortino helmet Montefortino helmets are generally characterized by a conical or round shape with a raised central knob, and a protruding neck guard as well as cheek plates to protect the sides of the head. The cheek pieces were attached to the helmet through D-shaped rings riveted to the rear of the helmet.
Plumes were attached to the raised central knob. It had a curved head to deflect sword blows and arrows and a neck guard to protect against slashes. Other common features include a "rope"-type pattern around the edge, and "pinecone"-type patterning on the crest knob. Note that the classifications are those used by archaeologists, rather than Celts or Romans, who, if they did distinguish among these types, have left no known record of the terms they used. In the
Roman Republic, the Montefortino helmet was the first stage in the development of the
galea, derived from Celtic helmet designs. Similar types are to be found in Spain, Gaul, and into northern Italy. Surviving examples are generally found missing their cheek pieces (probably because they were made of a perishable material which has not survived, e.g., leather) though a pair of holes on each side of the helmet from which these plates would have hung tend to be clearly identifiable, and examples which do include cheek pieces show clearly how these holes were used. Roman versions sometimes contain inscriptions of the name of the soldier who wore the helmet. Earlier helmets in the type are generally more decorated, as the
Republican legions were composed of levied men who paid for their own equipment. As the Roman army moved into the huge period of growth at the end of the 2nd century BC, cheap, undecorated but effective helmets needed to be mass-produced for the mainly poor legionaries. ==Sub-types==