presence of three hollow bosses on the neck guard. These were both soldered and riveted on; the latter attachments would also help hold the copper alloy components to the iron core. Circular remnants suggest that other bosses were placed above each ear, and over the split pin at the front. Five small bosses were likewise riveted to the ornate cheek guards, already featuring repoussage depicting naturalistic ears. None of these bosses survive, although their impressions remain. The helmet would have also had a crest. Markings at the apex of the skull cap indicate the former presence of a crest box, long by wide, joined by six rivets: two each at the front, centre, and back. The box would have been made of organic materials such as wood filled with horsehair, and has since decayed. Discovery The helmet was discovered, perhaps in the 1870s, during peat digging in Witcham Gravel. The exact place where it was found is unclear, although it was said to have been found "at a depth of about "; at the time Witcham Gravel was a parish of about , a significant amount of which was covered by fens. By 1877 the helmet was in the possession of Thomas Maylin Vipan, and on 17 May it was exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries of London by Augustus Wollaston Franks. In June 1880 the helmet was again loaned, this time to the Royal Archaeological Institute, which exhibited it in a two-week-long "Exhibition of helmets and mail." A write-up in The Academy termed it "a Roman helmet of great interest", and suggested that the unusual design had been made in Italy. Display Thomas Vipan died on 23 August 1891. That November the British Museum bought the helmet from the Rollin & Feuardent auction house, who sold it on instructions from Vipan's estate. The helmet has remained in the museum's collection since then. In 1993 it was displayed at the Abbaye de Daoloas (fr) by Quimper in France, where it was part of the exhibition "Rome face aux Barbes" from 18 June to 26 September. As of 2021 the helmet is on view in Room 49 of the British Museum. Typology The helmet was likely produced around the third quarter of the first century AD, based on the size and steep angle of the neck guard. It is broadly classified as an auxiliary cavalry helmet—type B, according to the typology