Montefortino Helmet

• The Montefortino helmet was used by Roman soldiers from 300 B.C. to the late first century A.D. The helmet was made of brass and had the shape of a cone. A knob was placed on top of the helmet, and there were cheek-guards and a neck-guard. The Monteforino was the earliest design of helmets considered to be Roman. The helmet was used to protect the wearer from sword strokes and strikes from blunt objects to the skull.
  
  

Imperial Gallic Helmet

• The imperial Gallic helmet is the most recognizable Roman helmet because of its use in movies and other media. The helmet is characterized by being round-shaped with swinging cheek-guards on both sides. A sloping neck-guard protects the rear of the neck. Usually made of iron, this style of helmet was an advancement over the previous Roman helmets made of bronze. The Imperial Gallic helmet was in use until the third century A.D.
  
  

Imperial Italic Helmet

• The Imperial Italic helmet was of the same design as the Imperial Gallic, but was worn by high-ranking officers and used for parades. A centurion would have worn this style with a crest mounted from side to side across the helmet. A higher-ranking officer called a Tribune wore the crest from the front to the rear of the helmet. The use of crests allowed common legionaries to identify officers in camp or in battle. The Optio, another rank of officer, would have worn a horsehair crest atop his helmet.
  
  

Signifier Head Garbs

• The signifier was the standard bearer for a Roman legion. Each legion, cohort and century had its own standard, and the standard bearer was a position of respect among the legionaries. The signifier was identified by the animal skin that he wore upon his head in place of a helmet. The animal skins were usually made of bear or lion skin, which represented strength. Since the signifier had such an important position, he was paid twice the normal pay of a regular soldier.