A rare Greek-Illyrian helmet

Even in antiquity, the world was much larger than we like to believe today. One such often ignored corner is the southern Adriatic, both on the Italian peninsula and on the eastern mainland of the Balkans. Nowadays, the latter is occupied from north to south by Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania. In antiquity, there were mainly the Illyrians. 

As proof of the inter-relations and connections between the above mentioned countries and Greece, archaeologists have unearthed a rare bronze Greek-Illyrian helmet. It was discovered in a rock-cut tomb near Gradina on the peninsula of Pelješac, roughly 70 kilometers north of Dubrovnik.  

Made for a Greek warrior, the tomb in Croatia dates from the 4th century BC. 

The Etruscans and the Scythians may have commonly used this type of open-faced helmet before finding their way to Illyria. Although this type of helmet disappeared from Greece in the early 5th century BC, it survived in Illyria till the end of the 4th century BC. 

Despite reports from the archaeologists that this type of helmet is rare, I have seen several examples in the Greek museums. For instance, this bronze Illyrian helmet and gold funerary mask from Chalcidice, dated to 530-510 BC at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens

this early Illyrian helmet from the 8th-7th century BC at the Museum of Olympia, 

and yet another Illyrian helmet with a funerary gold band at the Archaeological Museum in Thessaloniki 

I suppose the helmet is rare because it is found in Croatia? However, the leading archaeologist, Dr. Potrebica, claims that only forty such helmets exist in all of Europe. Maybe I was just lucky to find a few of those rare examples? 

Anyway, the grave yielded spears and knives, but also fifteen bronze and silver fibulae, bronze ornaments, tweezers, hundreds of beads made of glass paste and amber that belonged to a necklace. The cave also contained the grave of a woman who wore a bronze bracelet. The site yielded thirty vases, mainly of Greek origin, although researchers believe they come from Attic and Italian workshops. They probably are the most expensive vessels of the time. 

Scholars had dated these tombs to some time before the late 4th/early 3rd century, i.e., before the foundation on nearby Korčula of the first colony. 

All in all, these finds will lead to a new understanding of the southern Adriatic's role in history.

[Top picture, Credit: Dubrovnik Museums]