Bronze Roman helmet goes on the block.

Roman bronze helmet found in a field sells for £2.3 MILLION... eight times its estimated value

By TAMARA COHEN
Last updated at 8:44 AM on 8th October 2010

A rare Roman bronze helmet found in a field by a metal detecting enthusiast, sold for an astonishing £2.3 million at auction today.

The immaculately preserved 2,000-year-old artefact, one of only three ever found in Britain, was discovered in a field by an unemployed graduate in his early 20s.

It prompted a five-minute frenzy of bidding at Christie’s in London before it was bought anonymously on the telephone for eight times its pre-sale estimate.

Under the hammer: A rare Roman bronze helmet found in a field by a metal detecting enthusiast sold for an astonishing £2.3 million at auction today - eight times more than its estimated value of £300,000

Immaculately preserved: The 2,000-year-old artefact was discovered in a field by an unemployed graduate in his early 20s. The £2.3million will be split between the finder and the landowner

The proceeds from the Crosby Garrett Helmet, named after the hamlet in Cumbria where it was found in May, will now be split between the finder and the landowner, making both millionaires.

They have both chosen to remain anonymous.

The helmet, complete with an ornate face mask surrounded by a ring of tightly curled hair, was not intended to be worn in combat but for cavalry sports parades which often accompanied religious festivals.

Wearing full armour and colourful streamers, Roman soldiers would take part in organised games to impress visiting officials.

Christie’s described the find, from the late 1st century AD, as ‘an extraordinary example of Roman metalwork at its zenith’.

Six bidders fought for the helmet pushing the price steeply from its original £200,000-£300,000 estimate up to £2,281,250.

It is the find of a lifetime for the young man, who with the landowners’ permission had searched the same field for seven years with his father as a hobby, but had only ever found a few coins and scrap metal.

Only two other helmets complete with face-masks have been discovered in Britain. They are the Ribchester Helmet, found in 1796 and now in the British Museum, and the Newstead Helmet, found some time around 1905 and now at the Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh.

Only a handful of helmets such quality have been found anywhere across the former Roman empire, and potential buyers from all over the world registered interest.

Rare: The helmet is one of only three of its kind discovered in Britain since records began 250 years ago

A campaign has been gathering in Cumbria to pay for the helmet, and the county’s Tullie House museum managed to stay in the bidding up to £1.7m, a staggering sum for a small outfit - most of it raised through frantic fundraising in the last month.

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Its curator Andrew Mackay said: ‘This is a real blow. People will be terribly disappointed – we had thousands of pounds coming in every day, and children literally emptying their piggy banks. ‘We are now very, very anxious to talk to the buyer to see where we go next.’

The fact it could have been sold abroad may lead to calls for reform of the Treasure Act.

As the helmet is bronze, it is not classified as treasure - which must be 50 per cent silver or gold - and could have been automatically offered to the British museum at the market price, compensating the finder and landowner.

Christie’s London head of antiquities, Georgiana Aitken, said: ‘This helmet is the discovery of a lifetime for a metal detectorist.

‘When it was initially brought to Christie’s and I examined it at first-hand, I saw this extraordinary face from the past staring back at me and I could scarcely believe my eyes. 

‘This is a hugely important discovery and the universal appeal of the helmet saw it draw interest from a diverse group of bidders at today’s auction.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1318567/Roman-bronze-helmet-field-sells-2-3-MILLION--times-estimated-price.html#ixzz11ltmhE63