The Armour Archive

Hi there,

I'm working on 3 lorica's with helmets for a museum.

I decided to try some raising.

Did some attempts before, but now I got the hang of it.

First I wanted to raise a whole Imperial Gallic G out of 1 plate 1,5 mm mild steel.

It got me in serious trouble with the big flat neckguard.

I can not figure out how raise the bowl without thinning the metal when closing in on the neckguard part.... it thins there and no-way Iwill rasie the whole neckguard first, and then having to hammer it out again...

( how on earth did them Romans do it??? ( What ever did the Romans do for us?? - Ok, the wine, errrh, safety on the streets, medical care , nice movies with half-naked men fighting each other, the roads, the sewers,--- but apart from that, WHATEVER did they do for us???)

Well, I decided to cut the neckguard and just raise the bowl....

Using a ballstake, about 3 hammers and a propane burner with rosebud tip.
About 2,5 days work.

I'm actually very pleased with the shape, the fit and the material thickness.

[img]http://www.pixis.nl/anytime/customer/thermen/Imperial%20Gallic%20G%2001/Imp%20Gal%20G%20001.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.pixis.nl/anytime/customer/thermen/Imperial%20Gallic%20G%2001/Imp%20Gal%20G%20002.jpg[/img]
A neckguard-test. 1mm steel with the famous pattern raised on a stake.
(chiseld first, then raised from the outside.)

I wel it on later.

Looking good Duco! We love some progress pics.

Richard

Duco de Klonia wrote:I'm actually very pleased with the shape,

And so you should be. Lookin spiff as spiff is.

Looking good! Yeah, couldn't tell you exactly how the Romans did it, but I'm sure they did it that way just to annoy us. One tip, be careful how high that vertical bit is behind the ear--on the Gallic G it's less than an inch. These two aren't perfect examples but should give a good idea:

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/GalG1.jpg

Nice work!

Matthew

Well Matthew, of course I've seen your website... I can dream it.

First I will do the ridges on the neck, then I will cut it ( about an inch left as you said...)

My opinion about how the Romans did it:

They did not use a plate to raise a helmet.

Why first hammer a plate and then have to raise and shrink it....?
The idea of using a readymade, all over 16, 18 or 12 gauge plate is one of the modern, industrial times.
In ancient times a bloom or block came out of the oven and had to be hammered in a desired shape, so hammering it directly into a helmet is not a crazy thought...

I think a small, fat ( 5-8 mm?) oval-shaped plate was hot-hammered on the anvil from the inside.

a fat "flap" was left on what was to become the neck-part.
That fat flap/rim part was hammered into a neckguard after shaping the rest of the helmet.

It was a 2-man job I think.

I've done the whole procedure over and over in my head and this is the most likely way to me....
Some day I will try this.

Matthew, were the "wings" or "eyebrows" on the front of the Imp. G. first chiseled from the inside, then raised over a stake from the outside?
I mean, I can not clearly see on the Mainz Imp. G. if the wings had high sharp edges like the A....

(do you have more Mainz Imp. G. pics for me?)

Also, were the embossed rivet plates on the cheek guards smaller then those on the lorica's?

See my weblog (Dutch, but the pics are there ) for the rest of the museum project.
http://anytimehistorischereproducties.blogspot.com/

Duco de Klonia wrote:First I will do the ridges on the neck, then I will cut it ( about an inch left as you said...)

Ah, of course, that makes sense--I'd forgotten about the ridges.

My opinion about how the Romans did it:

They did not use a plate to raise a helmet....
In ancient times a bloom or block came out of the oven and had to be hammered in a desired shape, so hammering it directly into a helmet is not a crazy thought...

I think a small, fat ( 5-8 mm?) oval-shaped plate was hot-hammered on the anvil from the inside.

a fat "flap" was left on what was to become the neck-part.
That fat flap/rim part was hammered into a neckguard after shaping the rest of the helmet.

Yes, I agree that it makes sense to work from a thicker plate or billet. But there may be evidence that armorers simply bought sheet from iron producers--in fact I think there is but I don't recall exactly. It would still be possible to work from a thicker sheet in a similar fashion, though.

Matthew, were the "wings" or "eyebrows" on the front of the Imp. G. first chiseled from the inside, then raised over a stake from the outside?
I mean, I can not clearly see on the Mainz Imp. G. if the wings had high sharp edges like the A....

Don't know! Probably worked from both sides, yes, though I expect the method varied quite a bit. There is a brass Gallic type I with visible toolmarks made from the inside. Might be the one on this page:

http://www.legionsix.org/Equipment/Real ... ar%202.htm

Hmm, though some of that lumpiness may be due to restoration and repair.

(do you have more Mainz Imp. G. pics for me?)

Been to the Roman Army Talk helmet database?

Also, were the embossed rivet plates on the cheek guards smaller then those on the lorica's?

Usually the same size, about an inch. Oh, right, on one of those in the photo from my site, the owner trimmed his down a little.

See my weblog (Dutch, but the pics are there ) for the rest of the museum project.
http://anytimehistorischereproducties.blogspot.com/

Neat! Pretty cool project. Needs more Bronze Age stuff, though, ha!

Vale,

Matthew

I read that roman helmets were often spun tops with neck guards and other bits and pieces welded or riveted on after !

Copper alloy helmets were often spun, but the neckguard was all one piece with the dome. Things like the brow reinforce and cheekpieces were riveted on. No welds that I've ever seen or heard of.

But iron helmets couldn't be spun with their technology (things like slag inclusions, etc.), so they were all hammered. But again, bowl and neckguard were all one piece.

Vale,

Matthew

Looks great!

Duco de Klonia wrote:I can not figure out how raise the bowl without thinning the metal when closing in on the neckguard part....

I'd use slightly thicker material, accept part of the thinning when going from conical shape to the final shape in the neck. Draw out the last thick edge of the neck part once it's at the proper angle to the skull piece.