Collection: Roman Helmets

Roman helmets
A galea was a Roman soldier's helmet. Some gladiators, specifically myrmillones, also wore bronze galeas with face masks and decorations, often a fish on its crest.The exact form or design of the helmet varied significantly over time, between differing unit types, and also between individual examples – pre-industrial production was by hand – so it is not certain to what degree there was any standardization even under the Roman Empire. 

Coolus helmets
The Coolus helmet (named for Coolus, France) was a type of ancient Celtic and Roman helmet. It was typically made in bronze or brass and, like the Montefortino type with which it co-existed, was a descendent of Celtic helmet types. The Canterbury helmet from England is an example.
It was fairly plain, except for some ridges or raised panels on the cheekpieces. It was globular or hemispherical in shape (some were spun on a lathe rather than hammered to shape) with a turned or cast soldered- or riveted-on crest knob.
The Coolus was replaced by the Imperial helmet type, a more developed form also derived from a Celtic original.

Imperial Gallic & Imperial Italic helmets
The Imperial helmet-type was a type of helmet worn by Roman legionaries. Prior to the Empire, Roman Republican soldiers often provided their own equipment, which was passed down from father to son. Thus a variety of equipment, from different eras was present in the ranks. Even as the professional Imperial Army emerged, and short-term service citizen soldiers became rare, useful equipment was never discarded. So when the improved Imperial helmet appeared, it replaced what remained of the very old Coolus type, which was largely superseded at the time by improved versions of the Montefortino helmet type which continued to serve alongside it for a time. This constituted the final evolutionary stage of the legionary helmet (galea).

Ridge helmets
The Late Roman ridge helmet was a type of combat helmet of Late Antiquity used by soldiers of the Late Roman army. It was characterized by the possession of a bowl made up of two or four parts, united by a longitudinal ridge.