The Crosby Garrett Helmet Comes Home!

Crosby Garrett helmet Photo copyright Daniel Pett

I shouldn’t say this¹, I really shouldn’t², but when it comes to Romans I sometimes feel Cumbria was a bit short-changed. I mean, we have a whopping great wall³ (well, half of it), numerous forts⁴, Roman roads and so on – but where’s the fancy stuff? Where are the villas with mermaid mosaics and painted plaster? I know I should make a virtue out of misfortune and assert that we have Real Roman Life, not some over-fed Roman fat cats poncing about with amphorae of wine… but still. You need imagination and learning sometimes to make sense of Cumbria’s slightly-straighter-than-expected roads⁵ and bumpy fields⁶. I start to envy Northumberland’s piles of old Roman shoes⁷ and notes about