Bronze-Age Helmets Uncovered in Slovakia

KOŠICE, SLOVAKIA—Ancient artifacts were handed over to the Eastern Slovakia Museum by a person who discovered them while picking mushrooms, according to a report in The Slovak Spectator. “This precious finding consists of two bronze helmets, partly stuck to each other,” said Róbert Pollák, who is director of the museum. “There were also two pairs of protective cheek pads and two spiral arm guards,” he added. Pollák explained that the helmets were each made from two shaped bronze plates that were connected with a central three-toothed comb equipped with a hole for a decorative plume. Holes at the sides and bottom edges of the helmets were used to attach the cheek pads. These helmets may have been obtained through trade and worn as power symbols by military chiefs, Pollák said. Similar helmets have been found in other parts of Slovakia, but they were fashioned from just one piece of bronze. To read about the recent discovery of a Corinthian helmet in southwestern Russia, go to “Hellenistic Helmet Safety.”