LATE ARCHAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 550-480 B.C.

As Hixenbaugh notes (op. cit., p. 61), during the final decades of the 6th century, “a simpler and more streamlined” form of the Illyrian helmet predominated. This version jettisoned the riveted border and ornate decoration of earlier types and featured a perpendicular neck-guard rather than a gently-sloping one, as illustrated in this example. With these helmets, the combatant probably wore a leather cap under the helmet rather than relying on one that was directly sewn in. According to Hixenbaugh (op. cit., p. 133), these changes were made to accommodate a helmet that was more easily manufactured. The present helmet features two raised crest lines running across the dome, and the border is ornamented with pseudo-rivets. For a similar example in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, see no. I191 in Hixenbaugh, op. cit.