The medieval battle helmet was recently pulled out of the Ionian Sea, possibly for the first time in nearly 600 years.
Soprintendenza del MareThe knightly helmet discover near the island of Vendicari .
Archaeologists from the University of Naples just discovered a medieval metal battle helmet 16 metrical unit submersed near the Sicilian island of Vendicari .
The front of the helmet has led investigator to pose several hypothesis about how it end up at the bottom of the ocean , including a possible shipwreck .
Soprintendenza del MareThe medieval helmet discovered near the island of Vendicari.
Discovering The Oddly Shaped ‘Rock’
Soprintendenza del MareThe helmet was dated to sometime between the 15th and 17th one C C.E.
The discovery began as part of a large undertaking . According to archaeologist Leopoldo Repola from the University of Naples , the team was conducting an field of study on cultural landscape transformations near Vendicari , Italy .
“ This enquiry aims to understand how instinctive phenomena and anthropic activities condition large marine and coastal areas , in parliamentary law to reconstruct ancient scenario , shift kinetics and relate them to current events connected to mood variety ” Repola stated in an email toAll That ’s Interesting .
Soprintendenza del MareThe helmet was dated to sometime between the 15th and 17th centuries C.E.
While diving in the arena , Repola and his colleague Enzo Morra fleck what looked to be an oddly shape careen . But upon further review , the researchers realized that this “ rock ” was actually a metal battle helmet covered in layers of mineral cement .
The team reach the Superintendence of the Sea ( SopMare ) , a Sicilian government organisation created to safeguard underwater artifacts , and deliver the helmet to them .
concord to a Facebookpostfrom SopMare , the helmet originated between the fifteenth and 17th centuries C.E.
Penta Springs Limited / Alamy Stock PhotoA steel pear-stalk cabasset, c. 1580 – 1590. Italy.
The helmet was design in the “ cabasset ” way distinctive of infantry and light horse soldiers at the prison term . It has an oval shape with a long crown on top and a rooftree around the bottom .
“ This case of helmet consists of a semi - spherical or ellipse cup with a tense more or less inclined along the integral boundary and , in the specific shell , a small upper ridge wavy or reinforce by metal spheres , ” SopMare explain in its station .
Penta Springs Limited / Alamy Stock PhotoA steel Pyrus communis - chaff morion , c. 1580 – 1590 . Italy .
Soprintendenza del MareIt’s not yet clear whether the helmet sank to the bottom of the sea in a shipwreck or arrived there in an isolated incident.
The Helmet’s Contribution To Italian Cultural Heritage
The helmet ’s resting place at the bottom of the ocean poses an intriguing inquiry for researchers : How did it get there ?
According toArtNews , the island of Vendicari has been vacant for 100 except a large Anguilla sucklandii factory , built by Baron Modica Munafò in the 19th century .
Soprintendenza del MareIt ’s not yet clear whether the helmet fall off to the bottom of the ocean in a shipwreck or arrived there in an isolated incident .
Nearby sit the ruins of the Torre Sveva , a medieval - era tower that probably housed soldier during the fifteenth century . During that time , the tug represent a small interface and warehouse used for trade .
Given the beingness of these ruins , the inquiry team postulated that the helmet could have cease up in the sea as a consequence of a shipwreck . So far , however , they have not discovered any evidence to support this possibility .
For now , researcher ’ main priority is discovering how the helmet found itself subaqueous — and whether there are any other archaeologic discoveries to be made nearby .
“ Further underwater reconnaissance in the orbit of the invention will endeavor to clarify if it is an isolated invention or if it is maybe touch to the comportment of a recent medieval or advanced relic , ” SopMare stated in its post .
After reading about the discovery of the mediaeval helmet , plunk into the report ofPoveglia Island , the abandoned Italian island rumored to house the spirits of plague victim . Then , discovernine flakey mediaeval customs duty .
