Posted on 02/28/2012 9:07:41 PM PST by DogByte6RER
Found: Ancient Warrior's Helmet, Owner Unknown
A Greek bronze helmet, covered with gold leaf and decorated with snakes, lions and a peacock's tail (or palmette), has been discovered in the waters of Haifa Bay in Israel. But how this helmet ended up at the bottom of the bay is a mystery.
The helmet dates back around 2,600 years and likely belonged to a wealthy Greek mercenary who took part in a series of wars, immortalized in the Bible, which ravaged the region at that time. Archaeologists believe that he likely fought for an Egyptian pharaoh named Necho II.
Dredging discovery
The helmet was discovered accidentally in 2007 during commercial dredging operations in the harbor. After it was discovered, conservators with the Israel Antiquities Authority went to work cleaning it and archaeologists began to analyze it.
They discovered that it is very similar to another helmet found in the 1950s near the Italian island of Giglio, about 1,500 miles (2,300 kilometers) away. That helmet has been dated to around 2,600 years ago, something which helped the researchers arrive at a date for the Haifa Bay helmet.
"The gilding and figural ornaments make this one of the most ornate pieces of early Greek armor discovered," writes Jacob Sharvit, director of the Marine Archaeology Unit with the Israel Antiquities Authority, and John Hale, a professor at the University of Louisville, in a summary of their research being presented at the meeting.
This Greek warrior likely would have been a very wealthy individual, as few soldiers could afford such an ornate helmet. The researchers aren't sure where the helmet was made, though they suspect the warrior could be from one of the Greek colonies in Ionia, on the west coast of modern-day Turkey.
Greek warrior loses helmet
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
The helmets at the Metropolitan Museum are full size replicas. PUGACHEV’s comment got a chuckle out of me, I remember going to the Met as a kid and thinking the same thing, ‘wtf I wouldn’t even fit in this helmet.’
Then again, look at any pre-World War I military arm....
Your right - the Brown Bess is a beautiful weapon.
But so is the 1903A3 in its own right, as well as the Garand
:)
I know as I have all three.
So would this have belonged to a Spartan?
“Throughout their adult lives, the Spartiates continued to be subject to a training regime so strict that, as Plutarch says, “... they were the only men in the world with whom war brought a respite in the training for war.”
Bravery was the ultimate virtue for the Spartans: Spartan mothers would give their sons the shield with the words “Return With it or carried on it!”
Was just thinking, what an amazing warrior wore that helmet, Spartan or not. Be interesting to know his tale.
A hoplite. So interesting. Just don’t know enough about this time, but I should read more.
Whenever it seems I cannot do something, achieve something, I think of these sorts of men who were about, mostly because my grandfather told me and my own father told me the tales of their bravery and strength.
What can be achieved with good leadership. What men CAN be.
“The area apparently had metal deposits and was one where smithing evolved to a high art.”
Even the smithy strove for his best. I expect partially because he was inspired by them. Beautiful work on that helmet.
Note: this topic is from . Thanks again DogByte6RER.
A Greek bronze helmet, covered with gold leaf and decorated with snakes, lions and a peacock's tail (or palmette), has been discovered in the waters of Haifa Bay in Israel... dates back around 2,600 years and likely belonged to a wealthy Greek mercenary who took part in a series of wars, immortalized in the Bible, which ravaged the region at that time. Archaeologists believe that he likely fought for an Egyptian pharaoh named Necho II.
One of *those* topics.
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Be afraid. Be very afraid.
(There might be another remake!)
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