Corinthian helmet

Helen Hartstein: My name's Helen Hartstein, and I'm the Audience Development Lead at RAMM.

The object that I love at RAMM is the Corinthian helmet. It's such an iconic object. When you think about Corinthian and Greek warriors, you think about a helmet like this.

The helmet dates back to the early part of the fifth century BCE and was found in 1870 on the shores of the Euripus Strait in Greece, which is not far from where the Battle of Marathon happened. It would've belonged to a hoplite, who was a Greek warrior who fought on foot with a long spear.

The helmet ended up at the museum because it was bequeathed in a collection from a collector called Lieutenant Colonel Montague. And he was one of those late 19th-century, early 20th-century collectors. He had an interest in archaeology and classical civilisations.

It's in the Ancient Worlds gallery at RAMM. It's got beautiful cut-out eyes, nose protector, and it has this punch decoration all the way around. It's quite delicate around the edge of the helmet, so it's a beautiful object.

One of the wonderful things about objects in a museum is that you can think about all the stories around them, and what I love to think about is the person that wore that helmet. That person was a real man with hopes, fears, maybe a family. Was he fighting at the Battle of Marathon? He was clearly a warrior. How did he feel during that battle? Was he terrified?

That kind of personal connection between objects and their history and the people that owned them is what really fascinates me in the museum.

Watch RAMM staff and volunteers tell us why they love each of the 16 objects, and hear the fascinating stories that make these items so special.