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The Nijmegen helmet in Museum het Valkhof Netherlands.

The beautifully decorated equestrian helmet may have ended up in the river during the Batavian Revolt or shortly thereafter, as it dates back to the second half of the 1st century AD. The deposition of military equipment and other bronze objected in rivers has a long tradition in this area, which was continued in Roman times. Such a large number of the Roman helmets found in the Netherlands were discovered in water, that it seems implausible that they were all accidentally lost by soldiers crossing a river.




Archaeologists assume that at the end of their service, pagan soldiers sacrificed their most valuable pieces of Equipment to the deity who had protected them for so many years in the hope to receive another favour from them. This kind of 1st-century face helmets was used mainly as a battle helmet. The relatively large openings for eyes, nose and mouth make the face helmet very suitable to wear during combat. They were also worn during parades, where the riders would demonstrate their skills.




In April 2020, a much larger than life version of the helmet was placed on the border of the river in which it was originally discovered. Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands, founded by and known to the Romans as Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum. It received Roman city rights in 98 AD.