Newstead Helmet

The Newstead Helmet is an iron cavalry helmet with a protective face mask from a Roman fort in Scotland, depicting a youthful face with curled hair and a laurel wreath design. Today it is displayed at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh alongside other objects recovered from the same military site.

The helmet was excavated in 1905 from a well at the Roman fort of Trimontium and dates to between 80 and 100 AD, when Roman auxiliary cavalry units were stationed in northern Britain. This period marked the Roman military presence at the frontier of their British province.

The helmet shows how Roman military craftsmanship mixed with local artistic traditions, revealing the exchanges between Roman soldiers and the people living in Britain at that time.

The helmet is located at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, where it is displayed as part of a broader collection of Roman military objects. Plan to spend time exploring the museum to see related artifacts that provide context for this piece.

The helmet features bronze decorative plates with embossed chevron patterns and traces of silver or tin plating, revealing the complexity of its manufacture. A fitting attachment at the top once held a plume or feather ornament, adding to the soldier's appearance in a way that went beyond mere protection.