Denmark’s first Roman helmet found in weapons sacrifice

Two iron plates found in the massive Iron Age weapons sacrifice found near Hedensted, Denmark, have been revealed to be parts of a Roman helmet from the 4th century. It is the oldest iron helmet ever found in Denmark, and the only Roman helmet ever found within the country’s borders.

When the discovery of the weapons sacrifice was announced in November 2024, the tally of weapons and fittings in the sacrifice recorded 119 spears and lances, eight swords, five knives, three arrowheads, one axe, a horse bridle, a chainmail shirt, fragments of two oath rings and a huge pile of iron and bronze objects that awaited examination and classification.

Two of the iron objects, each about the size of a palm, were so thickly encrusted with rust it wasn’t clear what they were. X-ray imaging revealed them to be a neck guard and a cheek guard from a Roman crest helmet. The cheek guard is decorated around the external perimeter with reverse s-shaped squiggles. The crown of the helmet has not been found.

Archaeologists believe the original piece was broken down into pieces for distribution among the warriors after a successful battle. The way the spear heads were detached from their poles and sword blades removed from their hilts in this deposit indicates they were war spoils divided among the fighters on the winning side. Therefore, somebody else may have received the other cheek guard and the crown of the helmet.

Roman helmets are extremely rare in Scandinavia as a whole. There are no direct parallels to this helmet on the Scandinavian archaeological record, and the only that ones that even get close are from northern Germany and Sweden. The helmet plates and a selection of other objects from the weapons sacrifice will go on display at the Cultural Museum in Vejle starting Saturday, February 8th.

* This article was originally published here