'Extraordinary' Roman helmet from war-ending battle found in the sea off Sicily

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Archaeologists recovered the "Montefortino"-style helmet in an underwater excavation in the Aegadian Islands off the coast of Sicily.

a bronze conical helmet flanked by two cheek pieces
A "Montefortino" helmet was discovered on the seafloor off Sicily. (Image credit: Sicilian Region)

A treasure trove of metal artifacts, including a bronze Roman military helmet in an "extraordinary state of preservation," has been recovered from the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, researchers say.

The helmet was likely lost in the Battle of the Egadi Islands (also known as the Aegates Islands) in the First Punic War in 241 B.C.

"The 'Montefortino' helmet is one of the most beautiful and complete ever recovered," Francesco Paolo Scarpinato, regional councillor for cultural heritage, said in the statement.

This style of helmet was introduced to the Romans by the Celts and was a popular armor choice from the fourth century B.C. through the first century A.D. Notably, the Montefortino-style helmet has a small knob on the top where plumes were attached. It also had a projecting bill, like a modern baseball hat, and hinged cheek plates. At least six other helmets have been recovered from the Egadi Islands and are also thought to be associated with the Punic War battle.

On March 10, 241 B.C., the ancient city-state of Carthage (located in modern-day Tunis, Tunisia) and Rome engaged in the Battle of the Aegates, the Latin name for the islands off the west coast of Sicily. According to the ancient historian Polybius, although the Carthaginians outnumbered the Roman army, the Romans were better trained and defeated them. As a result, Carthage surrendered Sicily, and the First Punic War came to an end after 23 years.

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Last year, a Roman "rostrum" — a naval battering ram that would have been attached to the bow of a warship — was also cleaned and studied. This revealed a new inscription linking the ram with Gaius Sulpicius Gallus, a Roman magistrate during the First Punic War.

When researchers used CT scans to investigate the roughly 30 newly discovered metal artifacts covered in rust, they identified swords, spears and javelins that they believe were used in the 241 B.C. battle. The metal objects may have ended up in the sea after a Roman ship was captured by the Carthaginians.

Several Montefortino helmets were previously discovered along with naval battering rams near the Egadi Islands. Archaeologist William Murray told Live Science in 2019 that the Carthaginian soldiers who captured a Roman ship may have jettisoned heavy equipment overboard in a vain attempt to escape the Roman navy. But another possibility, according to Murray, is that the Carthaginians employed mercenaries from Gaul and Iberia, who are also known to have worn Montefortino helmets.

"This was the most common type of helmet at that time," Jeffrey Royal, an independent archaeologist who was not involved in the new research but who has found several similar helmets from the Battle of the Aegates, told Live Science in an email. "The great thing about this one is it seems the cheek pieces were found with it; most of ours were scattered," Royal said.

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Kristina Killgrove
Kristina Killgrove
Staff writer

Kristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Kristina holds a Ph.D. in biological anthropology and an M.A. in classical archaeology from the University of North Carolina, as well as a B.A. in Latin from the University of Virginia, and she was formerly a university professor and researcher. She has received awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science writing.

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