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60-512: The Crosby Garrett Helmet is a copper alloy Roman cavalry helmet dating from the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD . It was found by an unnamed metal detectorist near Crosby Garrett in Cumbria , England, in May 2010. Later investigations found that a Romano-British farming settlement had occupied the site where the helmet was discovered, which was located a few miles away from a Roman road and

120-455: A Roman army fort. It is possible that the owner of the helmet was a local inhabitant who had served with the Roman cavalry . The helmet appears to have been deliberately folded up and deposited in an artificial stone structure. It is thought to have been used for ceremonial occasions rather than for combat, and may already have been an antique by the time it was buried. It is of the same type as

180-568: A Roman artefact and thought at first that it was a Victorian ornament . He eventually identified it as Roman by consulting auction catalogues, searching the Internet and getting advice from dealers. Find Liaison Officers from the Portable Antiquities Scheme were notified of the discovery and visited the findspot along with the finder. Christie's commissioned Darren Bradbury, an independent conservator and restorer, to restore

240-542: A printed guide was produced for the occasion. It was subsequently displayed at the British Museum from 28 January to 27 April 2014. The helmet returned to Tullie House to be part of their exhibition for Hadrian's Cavalry, an exhibition spanning ten sites along Hadrian's Wall from April to September 2017. List of copper alloys Copper alloys are metal alloys that have copper as their principal component. They have high resistance against corrosion . Of

300-657: A public institution to purchase the helmet. Since its sale in 2010, the helmet has been on public display four times. It was lent by its owner to the Royal Academy of Arts in London, and was put on display from 15 September to 9 December 2012 as part of an exhibition of bronzes. From 1 November 2013 until 26 January 2014 the helmet was on display at the Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle , and

360-469: Is a major theme in the Greek world view, providing the unifying theme of the tragedies of Sophocles and many other literary works. Hesiod states: "Also deadly Nyx bore Nemesis an affliction to mortals subject to death" ( Theogony , 223, though perhaps an interpolated line). Nemesis appears in a still more concrete form in a fragment of the epic Cypria . She is implacable justice: that of Zeus in

420-400: Is hard to explain. It is suggested that they represent two aspects of the goddess, the kindly and the implacable, or the goddesses of the old city and the new city refounded by Alexander. The martyrology Acts of Pionius , set in the " Decian persecution " of AD 250–51, mentions a lapsed Smyrnan Christian who was attending to the sacrifices at the altar of the temple of these Nemeses. Nemesis

480-644: Is leached from the alloy ( dezincification ), leaving behind a spongy copper structure. A bronze is an alloy of copper and other metals, most often tin, but also aluminium and silicon. Copper is often alloyed with precious metals like gold (Au) and silver (Ag). † amount unspecified Nemesis (mythology) In ancient Greek religion and myth , Nemesis ( / ˈ n ɛ m ə s ɪ s / ; Ancient Greek : Νέμεσις , romanized :  Némesis ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia ; Ancient Greek : Ῥαμνουσία , romanized :  Rhamnousía , lit.   'the goddess of Rhamnous ' ),

540-506: Is no escape"; her epithet Erinys ("implacable") is specially applied to Demeter and the Phrygian mother goddess, Cybele . In some less common traditions, it is Nemesis, rather than the mortal Spartan queen Leda , who is the mother of Helen of Troy . This narrative is first found in the lost epic Cypria , the prelude of the Iliad . According to its author, Stasinus of Cyprus , Helen

600-506: Is situated not far from a Roman road. A number of earthworks are located nearby, indicating the presence of a previously unrecorded ancient settlement. The area was strategically placed on the route to the northern frontier of Roman Britain within the territory of the Carvetii tribe. The Roman army would have been present in the area and would certainly have used the nearby road. A Roman auxiliary fort stood only 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) to

660-592: Is unique, though it may parallel a lost "sphinx of bronze" that may originally have been attached to the crest of the Ribchester Helmet , discovered in Lancashire in 1796. The headpiece is nearly unique; only one other example in the form of a Phrygian cap has been found, in a fragmentary state, at Ostrov in Romania , dated to the second half of the 2nd century AD. Rings on the back of the helmet and on

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720-457: The Art Fund ; and £75,000 from the J Paul Getty Jr Charitable Trust . By the time of the auction three and a half weeks after the campaign had been launched, the museum had raised enough money to support a bid of up to £1.7 million. Behind the scenes, efforts were made to persuade the finder and landowner to agree a private sale with the museum, but these approaches failed. The initial estimate

780-471: The British Museum , has described the helmet as "... an immensely interesting and outstandingly important find ... Its face mask is both extremely finely wrought and chillingly striking, but it is as an ensemble that the helmet is so exceptional and, in its specifics, unparalleled. It is a find of the greatest national (and, indeed, international) significance." On 7 October 2010, the helmet

840-477: The Genesia ) was held at Athens . Its object was to avert the nemesis of the dead, who were supposed to have the power of punishing the living, if their cult had been in any way neglected ( Sophocles , Electra , 792; E. Rohde , Psyche, 1907, i. 236, note I). As the "Goddess of Rhamnous", Nemesis was honored and placated in an archaic sanctuary in the district of Rhamnous , in northeastern Attica . There she

900-815: The Newstead Helmet (found near Melrose in Scotland in 1905). Its facial features are more akin to those of helmets found in southern Europe although its design also has similarities with the Ribchester Helmet (found in 1796) and the Hallaton Helmet (found in North Yorkshire in 2000). Its design may allude to the Trojans , whose exploits the Romans re-enacted in cavalry tournaments. Ralph Jackson, Senior Curator of Romano-British Collections at

960-576: The Olympian scheme of things, although it is clear she existed prior to him, as her images look similar to several other goddesses, such as Cybele , Rhea , Demeter , and Artemis . In the Greek tragedies Nemesis appears chiefly as the avenger of crime and the punisher of hubris , and as such is akin to Atë and the Erinyes . She was sometimes called Adrasteia , probably meaning "one from whom there

1020-618: The Roman Empire from Britain to Syria . It is of the same type as the Newstead Helmet , found in Scotland in 1905, and its facial features most closely parallel a helmet that was found at Nola in Italy and is now in the British Museum . The rendering of the hair is similar to that of a type C helmet found at Belgrade in Serbia and dated to the 2nd century AD. The griffin ornament

1080-529: The British Museum in 2014. The helmet returned to Tullie House to be displayed in the Hadrian's Cavalry exhibition in the summer of 2017. The Crosby Garrett helmet is an almost complete example of a two-piece Roman cavalry helmet. The visor portrays the face of a youthful, clean-shaven male with curly hair. The headpiece is in the shape of a Phrygian cap , on the crest of which is a winged griffin that stands with one raised foot resting on an amphora . The visor

1140-517: The Phrygian hat and the tap. The helmet and visor were found in May 2010 in pastureland on a farm owned by Eric Robinson at Crosby Garrett in Cumbria. The finder, an unnamed metal detectorist in his 20s from Peterlee , County Durham , had been detecting with his father in two adjacent fields for some years but had previously only discovered some Roman coins and other small artefacts. The findspot

1200-465: The Roman writer Arrian : [T]hose of high rank or superior in horsemanship wear gilded helmets of iron or bronze to draw the attention of the spectators. Unlike the helmets made for active service, these do not cover the head and cheeks only but are made to fit all round the faces of the riders with apertures for the eyes ... From the helmets hang yellow plumes, a matter of décor as much as utility. As

1260-510: The Treasure Act to be revised, though British Archaeology noted that the circumstances of the helmet's discovery may have resulted in it being outside the scope of even a revised act. It is still possible that the helmet could come into public ownership; if the winning bidder wishes to export it, an export licence would have to be applied for and if a temporary export bar was placed on it an opportunity could arise for funds to be raised by

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1320-402: The act. The finder and landowner were thus free to dispose of the helmet as they saw fit. The discovery was publicly announced by Christie's in mid-September 2010; the helmet was the centrepiece of its 7 October auction catalogue, featuring on the cover and six more pages. Its value was put at £200,000 – £300,000. The Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery launched an appeal with the aim of purchasing

1380-553: The case of the Guisborough Helmet . The Dutch historian Johan Nicolay has identified a "lifecycle" for Roman military equipment in which ex-soldiers took certain items home with them as a reminder of their service and occasionally disposed of them away from garrison sites as grave goods or votive offerings. The circumstances in which the Crosby Garret helmet was buried are still unclear, but the discoveries made by

1440-434: The enclosure may possibly have served as a paddock for horses, while the evidence for the buildings is concentrated in the enclosure's northern portion. The remnants of Romano-British field systems in the surrounding area show that the area was under cultivation and animal remains found on the site indicate that the inhabitants also raised livestock, including sheep, goats and pigs. The presence of Roman pottery suggests that

1500-574: The epithet Nemesis. As the goddess of proportion and the avenger of crime , she is often depicted wielding a measuring rod ( tally stick ), a bridle , scales , a sword , and a scourge , and she rides in a chariot drawn by griffins . The poet Mesomedes wrote a hymn to Nemesis in the early second century AD, where he addressed her: Nemesis, winged balancer of life, dark-faced goddess, daughter of Justice and mentioned her "adamantine bridles" that restrain "the frivolous insolences of mortals". A festival called Nemeseia (by some identified with

1560-512: The face and headpiece are less clearly identifiable. Suggestions have ranged from the Greek god Attis and the hero Perseus , to the Roman gods Mithras and Jupiter Dolichenus , to a more general Eastern Mediterranean appearance that could possibly have been meant to suggest a Trojan identity. The Phrygian cap was often used by the Romans as a visual motif representing the Trojans. Another interpretation believes that it could be an Amazon due to

1620-460: The feminine and curvaceous shape of her body; Aura claimed that no goddess or woman with that sort of figure would be a virgin, and asserted her own superiority over the goddess thanks to her own lean and boyish silhouette. Artemis, enraged, went to Nemesis and asked for revenge. Nemesis promised to the goddess that Aura would have her punishment, and that the punishment would be to lose the virginity she took such pride in. Nemesis then contacted Eros ,

1680-402: The god of love, and he struck Dionysus with one of his arrows. Dionysus fell madly in love with Aura, and when she rebuffed his advances, he got her drunk, tied her up and raped her as she lay unconscious, bringing Nemesis' plan to a success. She is portrayed as a winged goddess wielding a whip or a dagger. In early times the representations of Nemesis resembled Aphrodite, who sometimes bears

1740-475: The griffin may have been used to attach colourful streamers or ribbons. Such helmets were used for hippika gymnasia , cavalry tournaments that were performed in front of emperors and senior commanders. Horses and riders wore lavishly decorated clothes, armour and plumes while performing feats of horsemanship and re-enacting historical and legendary battles, such as the wars of the Greeks and Trojans. According to

1800-488: The headpiece, visor and griffin. Bradbury's restoration work took some 240 hours and involved the repair of cracks and holes using resin and cyanoacrylate ("Super Glue"), retouched to match the appearance of the surrounding material. The helmet and visor have marked similarities to a number of other Roman cavalry helmets. The visor is a cavalry sports type C ( H. Russell Robinson classification) or type V (Maria Kohlert classification). Similar examples have been found across

1860-631: The helmet and making it the focus of a new Roman frontier gallery due to open in 2011. The campaign immediately attracted numerous donations, including £50,000 from an anonymous overseas benefactor who offered the sum if a matching sum could be raised by the public (it was); a £1 million offer from the National Heritage Memorial Fund ; a £300,000 pledge from the Headley Trust and the Monument Trust; £200,000 from

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1920-412: The helmet and visor for sale. Although Christie's was asked to delay the restoration so that a full scientific examination could be carried out, this request was not granted and information about the helmet's burial may have been lost as a result. However, the British Museum was able to inspect the find during restoration and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was carried out to determine the composition of

1980-509: The helmet was repaired using a bronze sheet which was riveted across two splits. Only two other Roman helmets complete with visors have been found in Britain: the Newstead Helmet and Ribchester Helmet . The helmet and visor were cast from an alloy consisting of an average of 82% copper , 10% zinc and 8% tin . This alloy was probably derived from melted-down scrap brass with a low zinc content, with which some tin had been added to improve

2040-656: The horses move forward, the slightest breeze adds to the beauty of these plumes.— Arrian, Ars Tactica 34 Combat gear was issued by and belonged to the Roman army, and had to be returned at the end of a wearer's service. Cavalry sports equipment appears to have been treated differently, as soldiers apparently privately commissioned and purchased it for their own use. They evidently retained it after they completed their service. Both helmets and visors have been found in graves and other contexts away from obvious military sites, as well as being deposited in forts and their vicinity. In some cases they were carefully folded up and buried, as in

2100-623: The ideal percentage of tin was therefore expensive and the proportion of tin was often reduced to save cost. The discovery and exploitation of the Bolivian tin belt in the 19th century made tin far cheaper, although forecasts for future supplies are less positive. There are as many as 400 different copper and copper alloy compositions loosely grouped into the categories: copper, high copper alloy, brasses, bronzes, cupronickel , copper–nickel–zinc (nickel silver), leaded copper , and special alloys. The similarity in external appearance of

2160-478: The inhabitants had adopted some elements of the Roman lifestyle, but their community may well have been there long before the Romans arrived. Archaeological evidence from the enclosure indicates that the site may have been first settled as far back as the Bronze Age , at least 1,000 years before the helmet was deposited. The finder discovered the helmet and visor buried together some 25 cm (10 in) below

2220-420: The large number of different types, the best known traditional types are bronze , where tin is a significant addition, and brass , using zinc instead. Both of these are imprecise terms. Latten is a further term, mostly used for coins with a very high copper content. Today the term copper alloy tends to be substituted for all of these, especially by museums. Copper deposits are abundant in most parts of

2280-413: The late 2nd or early 3rd century from the use of a particular type of decorated rivet as well as some of its design features, such as its pierced eyes. There has been much debate about the symbolic meaning of the helmet's design. The griffin was the companion of Nemesis , the goddess of vengeance and fate. They were both seen as agents of death and were often linked with gladiatorial combat. The meaning of

2340-461: The mixtures were generally variable. The following table outlines the chemical composition of various grades of copper alloys. A brass is an alloy of copper with zinc. Brasses are usually yellow in colour. The zinc content can vary between few % to about 40%; as long as it is kept under 15%, it does not markedly decrease corrosion resistance of copper. Brasses can be sensitive to selective leaching corrosion under certain conditions, when zinc

2400-706: The north-east at Verterae ( Brough Castle ). Following the helmet's discovery, the area around the findspot was investigated in a project sponsored by the Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery and the Portable Antiquities Scheme . The earthworks noted earlier were found to be part of a substantial enclosure surrounded by ditches, within which buildings had once stood. The enclosure, which measures as much as 500 metres (1,600 ft) long on its southern side, combines both native British and Roman methods of fortification. A sunken area within

2460-444: The other; both were functions of the popular gladiatorial Ludi held in Roman arenas. She is shown on a few examples of Imperial coinage as Nemesis-Pax , mainly under Claudius and Hadrian . In the third century AD, there is evidence of the belief in an all-powerful Nemesis-Fortuna . She was worshipped by a society called Hadrian's freedmen. Ammianus Marcellinus includes her in a digression on Justice following his description of

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2520-515: The post-discovery Tullie House/PAS excavations have provided much more detail about its context. It was clearly deposited within an artificial feature that had been specially constructed; Stuart Noon of the Museum of Lancashire suggests that the feature may have been intended as a memorial of some sort. It was not buried in an isolated spot but within a long-occupied Romano-British farming settlement that had clearly adopted aspects of Roman culture. Given

2580-444: The quality of the casting. Some of the fragments show traces of a white metal coating, indicating that the visor would originally have been tinned to give the appearance of silver. The griffin was cast separately from a different alloy consisting of 68% copper, 4% zinc, 18% tin and 10% lead . The visor would originally have been a silver hue and the helmet would have had a coppery yellow appearance. The helmet's creation can be dated to

2640-410: The settlement's proximity to Roman military locations, it is very possible that some of its inhabitants served with the Roman army, which often recruited mounted auxiliaries from among native peoples. The helmet may well already have been a valuable antique at the time of its burial; if the coins found nearby reflect when it was buried, it could have been over a century old by the time it was deposited. It

2700-420: The surface, at a site located on a ledge at the lower end of the settlement. It had been placed onto two stone slabs at the bottom of a hole which had been back-filled with soil. A stone cap had been laid on top. The helmet was found in 33 large fragments and 34 small fragments and had apparently been folded before burial. The visor was mostly intact and had been placed face down. The griffin had become detached and

2760-400: The various alloys, along with the different combinations of elements used when making each alloy, can lead to confusion when categorizing the different compositions. The following table lists the principal alloying element for four of the more common types used in modern industry, along with the name for each type. Historical types, such as those that characterize the Bronze Age , are vaguer as

2820-550: The world (globally 70 parts per million), and it has therefore always been a relatively cheap metal. By contrast, tin is relatively rare (2 parts per million), and in Europe and the Mediterranean region, and even in prehistoric times had to be traded considerable distances , and was expensive, sometimes virtually unobtainable. Zinc is even more common at 75 parts per million, but is harder to extract from its ores. Bronze with

2880-593: Was a child of Erebus and Nyx . Some made her the daughter of Zeus by an unnamed mother. In several traditions, Nemesis was seen as the mother of Helen of Troy by Zeus , adopted and raised by Leda and Tyndareus . According to the Byzantine poet Tzetzes , Bacchylides had Nemesis as the mother of the Telchines by Tartarus . The word nemesis originally meant the distributor of fortune, neither good nor bad, simply in due proportion to each according to what

2940-571: Was a daughter of Oceanus , the primeval river-ocean that encircles the world. Pausanias noted her iconic statue there. It included a crown of stags and little Nikes and was made by Pheidias after the Battle of Marathon (490 BC), crafted from a block of Parian marble brought by the overconfident Persians, who had intended to make a memorial stele after their expected victory. At Smyrna , there were two manifestations of Nemesis, more akin to Aphrodite than to Artemis. The reason for this duality

3000-413: Was born from the rape of Nemesis by Zeus. Zeus fell in love with Nemesis, here possibly presented as his own daughter, and pursued her, only for her to flee in shame. She took several forms to escape Zeus, but he eventually captured her and forced himself on her. Apollodorus speaks of a single transformation, into a goose, while Zeus turned into a swan to hunt her down and raped her, producing an egg that

3060-476: Was deliberately broken before being buried in what may have been intended as a ritual sacrifice. The identity of its owner will never be known, but it could have been that a local inhabitant who had formerly served with the Roman cavalry was responsible for the helmet's deposition. Although the find was reported under the Portable Antiquities Scheme, it was not declared treasure under the 1996 Treasure Act because single items of non-precious metal are not covered by

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3120-401: Was deserved. Later, Nemesis came to suggest the resentment caused by any disturbance of this right proportion, the sense of justice that could not allow it to pass unpunished. O. Gruppe (1906) and others connect the name with "to feel just resentment". From the fourth century onward, Nemesis, as the just balancer of Fortune 's chance, could be associated with Tyche . Divine retribution

3180-423: Was found with the helmet. No other artefacts were found at the time, but the subsequent Tullie House/PAS excavations at the findspot discovered a number of copper and iron objects, a bead and two Roman coins dating to 330–337. The coins were found within the artificial stone feature in which the helmet had been deposited and may have been buried at the same time. The finder did not initially realise that he had found

3240-437: Was given to the queen of Sparta; Helen hatched from the egg, and was raised by Leda. In another variation, Zeus desired Nemesis, but could not persuade her to sleep with him. So he tasked Aphrodite to transform into an eagle and mock-chase him, while he transformed into a swan. Nemesis, pitying the poor swan, offered it refuge in her arms, and fell into a deep sleep. While asleep, Zeus raped her and in time she bore an egg which

3300-439: Was one of several tutelary deities of the drill-ground (as Nemesis campestris ). Modern scholarship offers little support for the once-prevalent notion that arena personnel such as gladiators , venatores and bestiarii were personally or professionally dedicated to her cult. Rather, she seems to have represented a kind of "Imperial Fortuna " who dispensed Imperial retribution on the one hand, and Imperially subsidized gifts on

3360-444: Was originally attached to the headpiece by means of a hinge; the iron hinge pin has not survived, but its existence has been inferred from the presence of powdery deposits of iron oxide residue. The helmet would have been held in place using a leather strap attached from the wearer's neck to a decorated rivet on either side of the helmet, below the ear. Wear marks caused by opening and closing the visor are still visible, and at some point

3420-426: Was passed within seconds of the auction opening. Six bidders pushed the price towards a million pounds and Tullie House was forced to drop out at £1.7 million. Two remaining bidders took the bid past £2 million; the winning bidder, an anonymous UK resident and fine art collector bidding by phone, paid a total of £2,330,468.75 including the buyer's premium and VAT . The outcome aroused controversy and prompted calls for

3480-406: Was sold at Christie's for £2.3 million (US$ 3.6 million) to an undisclosed private buyer. Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle sought to purchase the helmet with the support of the British Museum, but was outbid. The helmet has so far been publicly displayed four times, once in a 2012 exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts , at Tullie House in 2013–14, followed by display at

3540-452: Was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris ; arrogance before the gods. The name Nemesis is derived from the Greek word νέμειν , némein , meaning "to give what is due", from Proto-Indo-European * nem- "distribute". According to Hesiod 's Theogony , Nemesis was one of the children of Nyx alone. Nemesis has been described as the daughter of Oceanus , Erebus , or Zeus , but according to Hyginus she

3600-528: Was transported to Leda by Hermes . Leda then raised Helen as her own. According to Eratosthenes in his Catasterismi , this version was presented by Cratinus . Nemesis enacted divine retribution on Narcissus for his vanity. After he rejected the advances of the nymph Echo , Nemesis lured him to a pool where he caught sight of his own reflection and fell in love with it, eventually dying. In Nonnus ' epic Dionysiaca , Aura , one of Artemis ' virgin attendants, questioned her mistress' virginity due to

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