In the first part of this deep dive into ballistic protection, we talked about body armor. What about protecting your dome? Let’s take a brief look back at the history of helmets to better understand their value.
The first documented use of helmets in combat was found in ancient Sumeria and Akkadian civilization, both from the region we would call Mesopotamia, circa 2300 BCE. The earliest bronze helmets are reported to have come from the Mycenae in 1700 BCE, and these Greeks were also believed to be the inventors of the first plate armor set. Use of combat helmets was prolific within the Ancient Greek and Roman Empires, at first being made of leather and eventually various types of metal and metal-alloys — initially leather and brass, then bronze and iron. As weaponry became more sophisticated, so too did the need for more robust protections of soldier’s heads. Military use of helmets was initially employed to prevent the wearer from cuts, arrows, and low-velocity musketry.
Eventually, in the 17th century, the use of military helmets declined as rifled firearms entered the battlefield. While some holdouts, like Napoleonic era cavalry, still wore ornate helmets, they served more as status symbols than
