Two New Finds of Helmets on the Slovene Territory

Abstract

In th e treatise 2 new helm ets of th e so-called Italian-E truscan type from the Slovene te rrito ry from Valična vas and N evlje near K am nik are published. Both helm ets w ere m entioned by Reiinecke already in his w ork »Der' N egauer H elm fund 32 BRGK (published in 1950). In this connection the author raises on the base of other findings the question of the periodisation of th at type again. In th e last stage of the so-called Italian-E truscan type there are three variants: helm ets w ith th eir brim s w idened in the shape of a belt; helmets with their brim s w idened in the shape of a belt and their cristae having developed independently on the present Slovene te rrito ry on the basis of in the shape of a belt and w ithout cristae, as are the published specimens from V alična vas and N evlje. The author shows th at the last variant has developed independently in the present Slovene te rrito ry on the bassis of a common Italian base for all th ree variants from 5th century, and th at it was at the same tim e lim ited to th at territory. It originated soon after the influence of Certosa, w hen the strong influence of Italy — its existence during C ertosa being proved —• was over owing to Celtic invasions, w hile the civili[1]zation of the eastern Alps te rrito ry was still in full swing. The connections with Italy w ere getting worse, and in consequence thereof the helm ets w ith cristae being lim ited to the western Alps territory, had no influence on the eastern Alps one. This periodisation is in accordance w ith the accom panying m aterial in the graves; this m aterial being predom inantly of late H allstatt — corres[1]ponding to the period of C ertosa — shows the influence of La Tene B. It is quite wrong to consider tl}e findings from the graves of the sites in the Slovene te rrito ry to be later Roman interm ents, but they are chronologically p arallel to the late H allstatt accom panying m aterial, w hich doubtless has not come into contact w ith the helm ets on account of its inadequate exploration. I ll The helm et from Id rija near Bača is only the proof of th a t type of a helm et having been preserved also in the first century B. C., and not of its having originated only then. T he au th o r shows also the im probability of R einecke’s thesis about the people on th e Slovene te rrito ry having begun m anufacturing the type of helm ets the prototype of w hich reaches as far as the fifth century, w hen th ere w ere neither econom ical nor political conditions for it nor can be explained by the unexpected reappearance of a som e hundreds of years old Italian ty p e during the Rom an occupation. T herefore it is clear th a t neither the w ell-know n finding from Ženjak m ust have inevitably originated from the period of A ugustus, b u t possibly from the beginnig of the th ird century till the period of Augustus.